BABoK V3 Techniques PDF

BABoK V3 Techniques
Copyright notice
All rights reserved.
IIBA®, BABOK®, CBAP®, CCBA®, ECBA® are registered Trademarks of

International Institute of Business Analysis, Canada.
All trademarks of copyrights mentioned herein are the possession

of their respective owners. We make no claim of ownership by the
mention of products that contain these marks.
Contents of this document should not be disclosed to any

unauthorized person. This document may not, in whole or in part,
be reduced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical.
This publication may be used in assisting aspirants for CBAP®

examination. It does not warrant that use of this publication will
ensure passing the CBAP®, CCBA®, ECBA® examination.
2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 2 of 206

BABoK V3 Techniques
Introduction
As the book title suggests, this book is a guidebook on BABoK V3
techniques for the aspirants of the CBAP®, CCBA®, and ECBA®
examination from IIBA®, Canada. We value your time and hence the
book is designed to be extremely specific – Help you pass the
certification examination with least possible effort.
This book is authored by qualified CBAP® trainers who have helped

many other participants clear the CBAP® and CCBA® examination in
the very first attempt. They are also regular trainers for CBAP®,
CCBA®, ECBA® preparations in both corporate and open-hose
workshops and have trained participants across the world – USA,
Australia, Middle East, South East Asia, Europe and Africa.
Now CBAP®, CCBA®, ECBA® examinations are based on BABOK® v3.0 and
so is this book. This book presents BABOK® techniques in a
simplified manner. This book will soon be followed by an audio
book and elearning to further assist participants.
Feedbacks and suggestions on the book

We will be glad and thankful if you can share your feedbacks and
suggestions on the book. Please send your feedbacks and
suggestions to Info@AdaptiveProcesses.com.

BABoK V3 Techniques
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright notice............................................... 2
Introduction .................................................. 3
Feedbacks and suggestions on the book .......................... 3
About Adaptive Processes Consulting ............................ 7
Unique benefits of working with us ............................. 8
Our key clients................................................ 8
Adaptive workshops catalogue ................................... 9
1. PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION .................................. 11
1.1 What is business analysis? ................................ 11

1.2 What is IIBA®?............................................ 14
1.3 What and Why of ECBA® ..................................... 16
1.4 What and Why of CCBA® ..................................... 19
1.5 What and Why of CBAP® ..................................... 22
2. BUSINESS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES .............................. 29
2.1 Acceptance and Evaluation criteria ...................... 29

2.2 Backlog Management ...................................... 32
2.3 Balanced Scorecard ...................................... 35
2.4 Benchmarking and Market Analysis ........................ 38
2.5 Brainstorming ........................................... 42
2.6 Business Capability Analysis ............................ 45
2.7 Business Cases .......................................... 49
2.8 Business Model Canvas ................................... 53
2.9 Business rules analysis ................................. 61
2.10 Collaborative Games ..................................... 65
2.11 Concept Modelling ....................................... 68
2.12 Data dictionary, aka metadata repositories .............. 70
BABoK V3 Techniques
2.13 Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) ............................... 73

2.14 Data Mining............................................. 78
2.15 Data Modelling .......................................... 83
2.16 Decision analysis ....................................... 91
2.17 Decision modeling ....................................... 96
2.18 Document analysis ...................................... 101
2.19 Estimation............................................. 105
2.20 Financial analysis ..................................... 111
2.21 Focus groups........................................... 115
2.22 Functional decomposition ............................... 121
2.23 Glossary............................................... 124
2.24 Interface analysis ..................................... 126
2.25 Interviews............................................. 129
2.26 Item tracking .......................................... 135
2.27 Lessons Learned ........................................ 138
2.28 Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) .......... 140
2.29 Mind mapping........................................... 146
2.30 Non-functional requirements analysis ................... 148
2.31 Observations aka “Job shadowing” or “Following people
around” .................................................... 152
2.32 Organization modeling .................................. 157
2.33 Prioritization ......................................... 160
2.34 Process analysis ....................................... 162
2.35 Process modeling ....................................... 167
2.36 Prototyping............................................ 172
2.37 Reviews................................................ 177
2.38 Risk analysis .......................................... 184
2.39 Roles and permissions matrix ........................... 188

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.40 Root cause analysis (RCA) .............................. 191

2.41 Scope models........................................... 196
2.42 Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas ..................... 201
2.43 State Modelling ........................................ 207
2.44 Sequence diagram ....................................... 211
2.45 Survey and questionnaires .............................. 214
2.46 SWOT analysis .......................................... 221
2.47 Use cases and scenarios ................................ 224
2.48 User stories........................................... 231
2.49 Vendor assessment ...................................... 234
2.50 Requirements workshops ................................. 239

BABoK V3 Techniques
About Adaptive Processes Consulting

Adaptive Processes is a leading Key facts
global player helping its clients  Consulting, training,
improve their BA and requirements staffing and products for
engineering capabilities and BA and requirements
practices. engineering.
 200+ person-years
consulting experience.
 200+ Clients across the
globe.
 10+ Fortune 500 clients.
 200+ workshops in India,
US, Thailand, Philippines,
Malaysia.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Unique benefits of working with us
Our key clients
Govern
ment

BABoK V3 Techniques
Adaptive workshops catalogue

Category Course Name
Business analysis Certified Business analyst Professional
(CBAP® ) (Endorsed by IIBA®, Canada)
Business analysis Certification of Capability in BA
(CCBA) (Endorsed by IIBA®, Canada)
Business analysis Certified Professional in Requirements
Engineering(CPRE) (Endorsed by IREB,
Germany)
Business analysis Elicitation techniques
Business analysis Requirements modeling using UML
Business analysis Behavioral skills for BAs
Business analysis The ACE BA program
Agile Certified Agile Practitioner
Agile Introduction to Agile and Scrum
BSC Balance Score Card
CMMI CMMI for Services
CMMI Introduction to CMMI for Development
CMMI CMM Implementation Workshop
CoBIT Introduction to COBIT
Excel Excel for Executive Managers
ISO 27001 Certified ISO 27001 Implementer
ISO 27001 Certified ISO 27001 Internal Auditor
Project Management Introduction to MS-Project
Project Management Project Management Basics
Project Management Program Management Professional

BABoK V3 Techniques
Project Management Stakeholder Management

Six Sigma Six Sigma Green Belt
Project Management Certified Software Team Lead
Software Engineering Configuration Management
Software Engineering Good Programming Practices
Software Engineering Introduction to Software Quality
Software Engineering Requirements Management
Software Engineering Software Engineering Principles
Software Engineering Introduction to Software QA
Software Engineering Software Reviews
Software Engineering Software Testing Principles
Software Engineering Software Metrics
Software Engineering Statistics for Project managers
Software Engineering Statistical Process Control
Please note that we modify course catalog based on changing

business needs. For the latest information, always refer to our
web-site, www.AdaptiveProcesses.com.

BABoK V3 Techniques
1. Preface and Introduction Your notes:
1.1 What is business analysis?
BABOK® definition: BA is the practice of

enabling change in an enterprise by defining
needs and recommending solutions that deliver
value to stakeholders.
BA enables an enterprise to articulate its

needs, rationale for change and to design and
describe solutions that can deliver value.
BA can be performed within a project or across

the enterprise. It can be used to understand
the current state, Define future state and
determine activities required for transition.
BA can be performed from various perspectives

like agile, business intelligence, information
technology, business architecture, business
process management etc.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Who is a Business analyst?
A person who performs BA tasks mentioned in

BABOK® is considered a Business analyst
irrespective of his job title or organization
role.
Business analysts elicit actual needs of
stakeholders, not simply capture expressed

desires. They are also responsible for
discovering and analysing information from
various sources.
Common job titles for BAs are business

architect, system analyst, requirements
engineer, process analyst, management
consultant, product manager etc.
Business analysts help organizations define
the optimal solutions for their needs, given
the set of constraints (including time,
budget, regulations and others).
Key activities BAs perform are:

BABoK V3 Techniques
Understand problems and goals of the

enterprise
Analyze needs and solutions
Devise strategies
Drive change
Facilitate stakeholder collaboration

BABoK V3 Techniques
1.2 What is IIBA®?
International Institute of BA (IIBA® ) was

founded in Toronto, Canada in October of 2003
to support the BA community by:
 Creating and developing awareness and

recognition of the value and contribution
of the business analyst.
 Defining the BA body of knowledge
(BABOK®).
 Providing a forum for knowledge sharing
and contribution to the BA profession.
 Publicly recognizing and certifying
qualified practitioners through an
internationally acknowledged certification
program.
What is BABOK®?
BABOK® contains a description of generally

accepted practices in the field of business
analysis. It gives a guidance on the skills
and knowledge that a business analyst must
possess. Contents of BABOK® have been verified

BABoK V3 Techniques
thoroughly by practitioners.
BABOK® does not mandate that practices
described should be followed under all

circumstances.
Any set of practices MUST be tailored to the

specific BA conditions.
The goal of revising BABOK® v2.0 and coming up

with the new version v3.0 are as follows:
 Incorporate new concepts and practices

 Address the evolving scope of the
profession
 Incorporate lessons learnt form
practitioners
 Enhance readability and usability of the
guide and consistency and quality of
texts and illustrations
 Improve consistency with other generally
accepted BA standards

BABoK V3 Techniques
1.3 What and Why of ECBA®
ECBA® stands for Entry Certificate in Business

Analysis, 1st level certification provided by
International Institute of Business Analysis
(IIBA®), Canada (www.IIBA® .org).
Following are some of the benefits of becoming

a ECBA® :
 Be recognized for your competency in

business analysis.
 Business analysis is the fastest growing
career opportunity for IT professionals.
 People with domain experience can move into
IT sector by becoming a business analyst.
 Better job prospects.
 Better salary.
Target Audience for ECBA®
ECBA examination targets the following

audience:
 Individuals entering the BA profession:
 Students enrolled in BA academic programs
 New graduates

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Professionals transitioning careers

 Functional managers who are not BAs but
manage them
Eligibility for ECBA®
 High school (i.e., 12 years of education is

required. In India, this will be higher
secondary school) and above.
 Prior business analysis-related work is not
required.
 Professional development: 21 hours of
verifiable BABOK® coursework in the last 4

years. Adaptive Processes is an authorized
EEP of IIBA®, its trainings provide desired
PDUs for the ECBA® certification
examination.
 References: Not required.
 Prior knowledge area expertise is not
required.
 Signed code of conduct is required.
ECBA® Question pattern

 This will be a knowledge based
examination.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Basic multiple choice questions

 50 questions
 Testing knowledge
 1.5 hours
Examination weightage – KA wise

Business Analysis Knowledge
Domain % Distribution
Business Analysis & the BA
Professional 2.5%
Underlying Competencies 5%
Business Analysis Key 5%
Concepts
Techniques 12.5%
BABOK® Guide Knowledge Areas
Business Analysis Planning

5%
and Monitoring
Elicitation and 20%

Collaboration
Requirements Life Cycle 20%

Management
Strategy Analysis 5%

BABoK V3 Techniques
Requirements Analysis and 24%

Design Definition
Solution Evaluation 1%
1.4 What and Why of CCBA®
CCBA® stands for Certification of Capability

in Business Analysis, 2nd level certification
provided by International Institute of
Business Analysis (IIBA®), Canada (www.IIBA®
.org).

a CCBA® :

business analysis.
 Business analysis is the fastest growing
career opportunity for IT professionals.
 Better salary.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Target Audience for CCBA®
CCBA examination targets the following

audience:
 Current CCBAs
 Level 1s
 Those who have fallen into the role
 Developing BAs
 Hybrid BAs (PMs, testers, QA, change
managers, designers)
 Product owners/managers
 Non-BA consultants
 Trainers
Eligibility for CCBA®

 Minimum 3750 hours of Business analysis-
related work in the last 7 years.

BABoK V3 Techniques

PDUs for the CCBA® certification
examination.
 References: Two references.
 Minimum 900 hours in each of the 2
knowledge areas or 500 hrs in each of 4
KAs.
You can download a BA experience calculator at
no cost from our eStore.
CCBA® Question pattern

 This will be a scenario based
examination.
 Situations will be described in 2-4
sentences
 Multiple choice answers
 130 questions
 3 hours
Business Analysis Planning

12%
and Monitoring

BABoK V3 Techniques
Elicitation and 20%

Collaboration
Requirements Life Cycle 18%

Management
Strategy Analysis 12%
Requirements Analysis and 32%

Design Definition
Solution Evaluation 6%
1.5 What and Why of CBAP®
CBAP® stands for Certified BA Professional,

3rd level certification provided by
International Institute of BA (IIBA®), Canada
(www.IIBA® .org).

a CBAP® :

business analysis.
 BA is the fastest growing career
opportunity for IT professionals.
BABoK V3 Techniques

 Better salary.
Target Audience for CBAP®
CBAP examination targets the following

audience:
 Seasoned BAs
 BA Consultants
 Trainers
Eligibility for CBAP®

 Minimum 7500 hours of Business analysis-
related work in the last 10 years.

PDUs for the CBAP® certification
examination.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 References: Two references from a career

manager, client (internal or external) or
CBAP®.
 Minimum 900 hours in each of the 4
knowledge areas.
You can download a BA experience calculator at
no cost from our eStore.
CBAP® Question pattern

 This will be a case study based
examination.
 Longer cases (1-1.5 pages) of information
 Multiple questions about the case
 Multiple choice answers
 120 questions
 3.5 hours

BA planning and monitoring
14%
Elicitation and 12%

collaboration
Requirements life cycle 15%

BABoK V3 Techniques
management
Strategy analysis 15%
Requirements analysis and 30%
design definition
Solution evaluation 14%
Additional Information
 Application expires within 1 year from
approval
 3 exams can be taken within a year without
any waiting time in between
Certification process
 Become an IIBA® member at www.IIBA® .org.
 Benefits include free, unlimited access to
the BABOK® and 500+ online books, local,
national and international networking
opportunities and ability to influence the
growth and direction of the BA profession.
 Take required training from an IIBA® EEP,
such as Adaptive Processes
(www.AdaptiveProcesses.com).
 Download BABOK® and start reading.
 Join a study group, or start one.
 Begin preparing for the application.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Preparing the application
 Begin the application at least 2 weeks

before you plan to apply.
 It can take anywhere from 6-10 hours to
complete.
 Download and use Adaptive BA experience
calculator.
 Apply within 6 months of when you plan to
write.
 You can download the CBAP® handbook for a
detailed application process at IIBA® web-
site.
Tips for the certification examination
 Please keep it in your mind that CBAP® is a

test on your knowledge of BABOK®, not your
knowledge on BA practice as you may be
following in your workplace.
 Answers need to be as per BABOK®, not
what you may think appropriate.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Questions are pretty much straight forward.

 No long descriptive questions. However,
there are questions with diagrams.
 No long answers. All questions had single
statement answers.
 Avoid answers which are prescriptive.
BABOK® does not provide any specific level
of rigor to be adopted in any activity.
 Be careful with answers which say something
should be 100% or 0% - It’s very hard
to find such digital options in life.

 Avoid terms which are not mentioned in
BABOK®. Such a term can be technically
correct, for example a specific company may
have a Wok Breakdown System – however
BABOK® does not have any such term. BABOK®
term is Work breakdown structure.
 Multiple options can be technically
correct; choose the BEST option.
 Do not trust long lists.
Knowledge areas
Knowledge areas represent areas of specific BA

BABoK V3 Techniques
expertise.
There are 6 knowledge area in BABoK:
1. BA planning and monitoring
2. elicitation and collaboration
3. Requirements life cycle management
4. Strategy analysis
5.Requirements analysis and design definition
6. Solution evaluation

BABoK V3 Techniques
2. Business Analysis Techniques
2.1 Acceptance and Evaluation

criteria
Acceptance and evaluation criteria define

measures which can be used for assessing and
comparing solutions or alternative designs.
Acceptance criteria describe minimal set of
requirements to be met for a solution to be
worth implementing. Typically used when only
one possible solution is being evaluated, and
is expressed as pass or fail. Evaluation
criteria defines a set of measures used to rank
multiple solutions options, solutions or
solution components based on their value for
stakeholders. This allows for a range of
possible scores.
Requirements for Acceptance and evaluation

criteria
 Comprises of value attributes:

Characteristics of a solution like
performance, applicability, scalability,

BABoK V3 Techniques
reliability etc. which determines its value

for stakeholders.
 Acceptance criteria must be expressed in a
testable form
 Evaluation criteria must be able to measure
whether the features can provide value to
stakeholders.
Strengths
 Agile methodologies require requirements to

be expressed as testable acceptance
criteria.
 Necessary when requirements express
contractual obligations.
 Evaluation criteria helps in assessing
diverse needs, defining priorities and
delivering estimated ROI
Limitations
 May express contractual obligations, which

may become difficult to change for legal or
political reasons.
 Achieving a common consensus on the

BABoK V3 Techniques
evaluation criteria may be challenging.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.2 Backlog Management
Backlog is used to record, track, and

prioritize remaining work items. Backlog
management refers to the planned approach
manage remaining work for the project. In a
managed backlog, items at the top have the
highest business value and the highest
priority.
Review backlog periodically. There may be more

than one backlog to manage backlogs at
different levels.
.1 Items in the Backlog
Backlog items may be any kind of item, such as

user story, use case, defect, change request,
risk etc.
.2 Prioritization
Items in the backlog are prioritized relative

to each other. One may use multi-phased
prioritization approach to backlog items.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.3 Estimation
High priority backlog items are usually

described in more detail, with a
correspondingly accurate estimate about their
relative size and complexity.
Do minimal amount of work on backlog item;

just enough to be able to understand the work
involved to complete it.
.4 Managing Changes to the Backlog
When new or changed requirements are

identified, they are added to the backlog and
ordered relative to the other items already
there.
Items are removed from the backlog when they

are completed, or if a decision has been made
to not do any more work on them. Removed items
can be re-added to the backlog.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Effective in changing stakeholder needs

and priorities
 Only items near the top of the backlog
are elaborated and estimated in detail
 Effective communication vehicle because
stakeholders can understand what items
are about to be worked on, what items are
scheduled farther out, and which ones may
not be worked on for some time.
Limitations
 Large backlogs are difficult to manage.

 It takes experience to be able to break down
the work to be done into enough detail for
accurate estimation.
 A lack of detail in the items in the backlog
can result in lost information over time.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.3 Balanced Scorecard
Balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and

management tool used to measure organizational
performance beyond the traditional financial
measures.
The underlying premise of the balanced

scorecard is that the drivers of value
creation are understood, measured, and
optimized in order to create sustainable
performance.
The balanced scorecard includes tangible

objectives, specific measures, and targeted
outcomes derived from an organization's vision
and strategy. Balanced business scorecards can
be used at multiple levels within an
organization.
.1 Learning and Growth Dimension
Measures regarding employee training and

learning, product and service innovation, and
corporate culture.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.2 Business Process Dimension
The Business Process dimension includes

metrics that indicate how well the enterprise
is operating and if their products meet
customer needs.
.3 Customer Dimension
The Customer dimension includes metrics on

customer focus, satisfaction and delivery of
value.
.4 Financial Dimension
What is financially necessary to realize the

strategy? Examples of financial measures
indicate profitability, revenue growth, and
added economic value.
.5 Measures or Indicators
There are two basic types of measures or

indicators: lagging indicators that provide
results of actions already taken and leading
indicators that provide information about
BABoK V3 Techniques
future performance.
In order for measures to be meaningful they

should be quantitative, linked to strategy,
and easily understood by all stakeholders.
Allows the organization to establish
monitoring and measuring of progress against
objectives and to adapt strategy as needed.
Strengths
 Facilitates holistic and balanced planning

and thinking.
 Encourages forward thinking and
competitiveness.
Limitations
 A lack of a clear strategy makes aligning

the dimensions difficult.
 Can be seen as the single tool for strategic
planning rather than just one tool to be
used in a suite of strategic planning tools.
 Can be misinterpreted as a replacement for
strategic planning, execution, and

measurement.
BABoK V3 Techniques
2.4 Benchmarking and Market

Analysis
Benchmark studies are conducted to compare

organizational practices against the best-in-
class practices from competitor enterprises,
in government, or from industry associations
or standards.
Market analysis involves researching customers

in order to determine the products and
services that they need or want, the factors
that influence their decisions to purchase,
and the competitors that exist in the market.
Market analysis can also help determine when
to exit a market.
.1 Benchmarking
Benchmarking includes:
1. identifying the areas to be studied,

2. identifying benchmarking sources
3. conducting a survey/ visiting enterprises,
4. determining gaps between current and best

BABoK V3 Techniques
practices, and
5. Developing a project proposal to implement
best practices.
.2 Market Analysis
Market Analysis requires that business

analysts:
1. identify customers and understand their

preferences,
2. identify opportunities that may increase
value to stakeholders,
3. identify competitors and investigate their
operations,
4. look for trends in the market, anticipate
growth rate, and estimate potential
profitability,
5. define appropriate business strategies,
6. gather market data,
7. use existing resources such as company
records, research studies, and books and
apply that information to the questions at
hand, and

BABoK V3 Techniques
8. Review data to determine trends and draw

conclusions.
Strengths
 Benchmarking provides organizations with

information about new and different methods,
ideas, and tools to improve organizational
performance.
 Market analysis can target specific groups
and can be tailored to answer specific
questions.
 Market analysis can expose weaknesses within
a certain company or industry.
 Market analysis can identify differences in
product offerings and services that are
available from a competitor.
Limitations
 Benchmarking is time-consuming;
organizations may not have the expertise to
conduct the analysis and interpret useful
information.
 Benchmarking cannot produce innovative

BABoK V3 Techniques
solutions or solutions
 Market analysis can be time-consuming and
expensive, and the results may not be
immediately available.
 Without market segmentation, market analysis
may not produce the expected results or may

provide incorrect data about a competitor's
products or services.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.5 Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a technique where one or

group of stakeholders deliberate on an idea
with the aim to produce numerous new ideas in
a non-judgmental environment, and to derive
themes for further analysis. Brainstorming
encourages participants to use new ways of
looking at things to heighten creativity.
Steps for Brainstorming
Prepare for brainstorming
 Develop a clear, and concise definition of

the area of interest.
 Determine a time limit for the group to
generate ideas; larger the group, allocate
more time.
 Identify facilitator, and participants.
 Aim for 6 to 8 participants representing
range of backgrounds, and experiences with
the topic.
 Set expectations with participants, and get
their buy into the process.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Establish criteria for evaluating, and

rating ideas.
Conduct session
 Share new ideas without any discussion,

criticism or evaluation.
 Visibly record all ideas.
 Encourage participants to be creative, share
exaggerated ideas, and build on others’
ideas.
 Don’t limit the number of ideas as the goal
is to elicit as many as possible within the
time period.
Wrap-up
 Upon reaching the ime limit, discuss, and

evaluate ideas using pre-determined
evaluation criteria.
 Create a condensed list of ideas, combine
ideas where appropriate, and eliminate
duplicates.
 Rate the ideas.
 Distribute final list of ideas to

BABoK V3 Techniques
appropriate parties.
Strengths
 Excellent way to foster creative thinking as

ideas are not judged.
 Facilitated properly, it can be fun,
engaging, and productive.
 Ability to elicit many ideas in a short time
period.
 Useful during a workshop to reduce tension
between participants.
Limitations
 Dependent on participants’ creativity, and

willingness to participate.
 Organizational, and interpersonal politics
may limit participation.
Group participants must agree to avoid

debating the ideas raised during
brainstorming.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.6 Business Capability Analysis
Business capabilities describe the ability of

an enterprise to act on or transform something
that helps achieve a business goal or
objective. Capabilities may be assessed for
performance and associated risks to identify
specific performance gaps and prioritize
investments.
.1 Capabilities
Capabilities are the abilities of an

enterprise to perform or transform something
that helps achieve a business goal or
objective. Capabilities describe the purpose
or outcome of the performance or
transformation, not how the performance or
transformation is performed. Each capability
is found only once on a capability map, even
if it is possessed by multiple business units.
.2 Using Capabilities
Capabilities impact value through increasing

BABoK V3 Techniques
or protecting revenue, reducing or preventing

cost, improving service, achieving compliance,
or positioning the company for the future.
.3 Performance Expectations
Capabilities can be assessed to identify

explicit performance expectations. And current
performance which will provide performance.
.4 Risk Model
Capabilities alone do not have risks—the

risks are in the performance of the
capability, or in the lack of performance.
These risks may fall into various categories

such as business risk, technology risk,
organizational risk, and market risk.
.5 Strategic Planning
Business capabilities for future state and

capability gaps of an enterprise can be used
to determine where that enterprise needs to go

BABoK V3 Techniques
in order to accomplish its strategy. A

business capability assessment can produce a
set of recommendations or proposals for
solutions.
.6 Capability Maps
Capability maps provide a graphical view of

elements involved in business capability
analysis. There is no set standard for the
notation of capabilities maps.
Strengths
 Create very focused and aligned initiatives

by providing a shared articulation of
outcomes, strategy, and performance
 Align business initiatives across multiple
aspects of the organization.
Limitations
 Requires an organization to agree to

collaborate on this model.
 Requires a broad, cross–functional
collaboration in defining the capability

BABoK V3 Techniques
model and the value framework.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.7 Business Cases
A business case provides a justification for a

course of action based on the benefits to be
realized by using the proposed solution, as
compared to the cost, effort, and other
considerations to acquire and live with that
solution.
A business case is frequently presented in a

formal document, but may also be presented
through informal methods. The amount of time
and resources spent on the business case
should be proportional to the size and
importance of its potential value. Business
cases do not provide intricate details.
A business case is used to:
1. Define the need,

2. Determine the desired outcomes,
3. Assess constraints, assumptions, and risks,
and
4. Recommend a solution.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.1 Need Assessment
Need drives business case. It is the relevant

business goal or objective that must be met.
Objectives are linked to a strategy or the
strategies of the enterprise. The need
assessment identifies the problem or the
potential opportunity.
.2 Desired Outcomes
The desired outcomes describe the state which

should result if the need is fulfilled. They
should include measurable outcomes that can be
utilized to determine the success of the
business case or the solution.
.3 Assess Alternatives
Business case identifies and assesses various

alternative solutions. Alternatives may
include (but are not limited to) different
technologies, processes, or business models.
Each alternative should be assessed in terms

BABoK V3 Techniques
of:
Scope: Scope can be defined using

organizational boundaries, system boundaries,
business processes, product lines or
geographic regions. Scope statements clearly
define what will be included and what will be
excluded.
Feasibility: Includes organizational

knowledge, skills, and capacity, as well as
technical maturity and experience in the
proposed technologies.
Assumptions, Risks, and Constraints
Financial Analysis and Value Assessment:
.4 Recommended Solution
Describes the most desirable way to solve the

problem or leverage the opportunity.
Strengths
 Provides integrated view of facts, issues,

BABoK V3 Techniques
and analysis required to make decisions

regarding change.
 Provides a detailed financial analysis of
cost and benefits.
 Provides guidance for ongoing decision
making throughout the initiative.
Limitations
 May be subject to the biases of authors.

 Frequently not updated once funding for the
initiative is secured.
 Contains assumptions regarding costs and
benefits that may prove invalid upon further
investigation.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.8 Business Model Canvas
A business model canvas is comprised of nine

building blocks that describe how an
organization intends to deliver value:
• Key Partnerships, • Channels,
• Key Activities, • Customer Segments,
• Key Resources, • Cost Structure, and
• Value Proposition, • Revenue Streams,
• Customer Relationships.
A business model canvas can be used as a

diagnostic and planning tool regarding
strategy and initiatives. As a diagnostic
tool, the various elements of the canvas are
used as a lens into the current state of the
business, especially with regards to the
relative amounts of energy, time, and
resources the organization is currently
investing in various areas. As a planning and
monitoring tool, the canvas can be used as a

BABoK V3 Techniques
guideline and framework for understanding

inter-dependencies and priorities among groups
and initiatives.
A business model canvas allows for the mapping

of programs, projects, and other initiatives
(such as recruitment or talent retention) to
the strategy of the enterprise. In this
capacity, the canvas can be used to view where
the enterprise is investing, where a
particular initiative fits, and any related
initiatives.
A business model canvas can also be used to

demonstrate where the efforts of various
departments and work groups fit and align to
the overall strategy of the enterprise.
.1 Elements
Key Partnerships
Key partnerships often involve some degree of

sharing of proprietary information, including
technologies. An effective key partnership can

BABoK V3 Techniques
lead to more formalized relationships such as

mergers and acquisitions.
Key Activities
Key activities are those that are critical to

the creation, delivery, and maintenance of
value, as well as other activities that
support the operation of the enterprise.
Key activities can be classified as:
Value-add: characteristics, features, and

business activities for which the customer is
willing to pay.
Non-value-add: aspects and activities for

which the customer is not willing to pay.
Business non-value-add: characteristics that

must be included in the offering, activities
performed to meet regulatory and other needs,
or costs associated with doing business, for
which the customer is not willing to pay.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Key Resources
Resources are the assets needed to execute a

business model. Resources may be different
based on the business model.
Resources can be classified as:
Physical: applications, locations, and

machines.
Financial: what is needed to fund a business

model, such as cash and lines of credit.
Intellectual: any proprietary aspects that

enable a business model to thrive, such as
knowledge, patents and copyrights, customer
databases, and branding.
Human: the people needed to execute a

particular business model.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Value Proposition
A value proposition represents what a customer

is willing to exchange for having their needs
met.
Customer Relationships
Customer relationships are classified as

customer acquisition and customer retention.
Organizations interact with their customers in

different ways depending on the relationship
they want to establish and maintain.
Channels
Channels are the different ways an enterprise

interacts with and delivers value to its
customers. Some channels are very
communication-oriented (for example, marketing
channel), and some are delivery-oriented (for
example, distribution channel). Other examples
include sales channels and partnering

BABoK V3 Techniques
channels.
Enterprises use channels to:
1. Raise awareness about their offerings,

2. Help customers evaluate the value
proposition,
3. Allow customers to purchase a good or
service,
4. Help the enterprise deliver on the value
proposition, and
5. Provide support.
Customer Segments
Customer segments group customers with common

needs and attributes so that the enterprise
can more effectively and efficiently address
the needs of each segment.
Cost Structure
Every entity, product, or activity within an

enterprise has an associated cost. Enterprises
seek to reduce, minimize, or eliminate costs
wherever possible. It is important to

BABoK V3 Techniques
understand the type of business models, the

differences in the types of costs and their
impact, and where the enterprise is focusing
its efforts to reduce costs.
Revenue Streams
A revenue stream is a way or method by which

revenue comes into an enterprise from each
customer segment in exchange for the
realization of a value proposition. There are
two basic ways revenue is generated for an
enterprise:
Revenue resulting from a one-time purchase of

a good or service and recurring revenue from
periodic payments for a good, service, or
ongoing support.
Licensing or Subscription fees: the customer

pays for the right to access a particular
asset, either as a one-time fee or as a
recurring cost.
Transaction or Usage fees: the customer pays

BABoK V3 Techniques
each time they use a good or service.
Sales: the customer is granted ownership

rights to a specific product.
Lending, Renting, or Leasing: the customer has

temporary rights to use an asset.
Strengths
 Widely used and effective framework to

understand and optimize business models.
 Easy to understand and simple to use.
Limitations
 Does not account for alternative measures of

value such as social and environmental
impacts.
 Does not provide a holistic insight for
business strategy.
 Does not include the strategic purpose of
the enterprise within the canvas.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.9 Business rules analysis
Business policies and rules guide the day-to-

day operation of the business and its
processes. It shapes operational business
decisions. A business policy dictates the
actions of an enterprise and the people in it
by broadly controlling, influencing, or
regulating them. A business rule serves as a
criterion for guiding behavior, shaping
judgments, or making decisions in a specific,
testable manner. Business rules analysis is
used to identify, express, validate, refine,
and organize the rules that shape day-to-day
business behavior. It also guides operational
business decision making.
Business rules may be explicit or tacit. It

requires a defined glossary of terms. A set of
rules for making an operational business
decision may be expressed as a decision table
or decision tree.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Business rules should be:
 Stated in appropriate terminology for Domain

SMEs to validate.
 Documented independently from enforcement.
 Stated at atomic level, and in declarative
format.
 Maintained in a manner which can be
monitored and adapted as the business
policies change.
Definitional rules
These rules represent operational knowledge of

the organization. They prescribe how
information may be derived, inferred or
calculated based on information available to
the business. They can be misapplied but
cannot be violated. An example of an operative
rule is: “Margin will be calculated after
deducting variable expenses and over heads.”
Behavioral rules
Behavioral rules intend to guide the actions

BABoK V3 Techniques
of people working within the organization, or

people who interact with it. These rules can
be violated directly but organization may take
precautions in its solutions to prevent it.
“No customer shall be provided a credit

period more than 30 days.”
Strengths
 Having an enterprise-wide engine can assist

in quick implementation of changes in
business rules.
 Centralized repository enables reuse of
business rules across the organization.
 Allows organizations to make changes to
policy without altering processes.
Limitations
 Can be lengthy, contradict one another or

produce unanticipated results when combined.
 Poorly defined and organized vocabulary can
result in inaccurate or contradictory

business rules.

BABoK V3 Techniques

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.10 Collaborative Games
Collaborative games use game playing

techniques to collaborate in developing common
understanding of a problem or a solution. They
usually involve strong visual or tactile
(activities) elements such as moving sticky
notes, writing on whiteboards, or drawing
pictures. A neutral facilitator guides the
game flow.
Steps are:
1. Define Game Purpose
2. Play the game
1. Opening step 1. Learn the rules of the

game, and start generating ideas,
2. Exploration step - Participants engage with

one another and look for connections between
their ideas, test those ideas, and experiment
with new ideas, and
3. Closing step – Assess ideas which are

likely to be the most productive.
BABoK V3 Techniques
Examples of Collaborative Games
Game Description Objective
Product Construct a product box to be Identify features

box sold in a retail store. those drive interest
in the marketplace.
Affinity Write features on sticky Identify related or

map notes, put them on a wall. similar features or
Move noted to other features themes.
that are similar.
Fishbowl Divide participants in 2 Identify hidden

groups. One group speaks assumptions or
about a topic. Other group perspectives.
listens intently and
documents its observations.
Strengths
 Identify hidden assumptions or differences

of opinion.
 Encourages creative thinking.
 Challenges participants to take a more

BABoK V3 Techniques
active role.
 Useful in exposing business needs that
aren't being met.
Limitations
 May be perceived as silly and unproductive,

 Uncomfortable for participants with reserved
personalities or cultural norms.
 Time-consuming
Can lead to a false confidence in the
conclusions reached due to group activity.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.11 Concept Modelling
Concept models organize business vocabulary,

usually starting with glossary. These models
are effective where:
 Organizing, managing, and communicating core

knowledge,
 Need to capture large numbers of business
rules,
 Stakeholders find it hard to understand data
models,
 Re-engineering business processes or
business capability, and
 Regulatory or compliance challenges.
Concept models are different from data models.

Concept models support expression of natural
language statements. Concept models are NOT
intended to unify, codify, and simplify data.
Noun concepts – Entities or objects of

interest for e.g. “Customer”, “Order” etc.
Verb concepts – Actions those can be carried

BABoK V3 Techniques
out on Noun concepts. Such as “Create”,

“Update”. This would form sentence like
“Create Customer”, “Update Order”.
Strengths
 Makes communication business-friendly

precise meanings.
 Independent of data design biases.
 Helps in reducing ambiguity in business
rules and decision tables
Limitations
 Requires a specialized skill to think

abstractly
 Need tool support for stricter
implementation.
Note: This was called “Glossary” in BABoK
v2.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.12 Data dictionary, aka metadata

repositories
Data dictionaries comprises of standard

definitions of primitive data elements, their
meanings, and allowable values, and indicate
how those elements combine into composite data
elements. It is used to manage data within a
solution’s context and is often used in
conjunction with an ER diagram.
Primitive data elements
Record following information about each data

element in the data dictionary:
Name A unique name for the data

element.
Aliases Alternate names for the data

element.
Values List of acceptable values for

the data element.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Meanings If the values are abbreviated,

include an explanation of the
meaning.
Descripti Definition of the data element

on in the context of the solution.
Composite data elements
Composite data is assembled from primitive

data elements, for example an intelligent ID
to describe items. Composite structures
include:
Sequence Show primitive data elements

in specific order.
Repetition Shows that one or more

primitive data elements occur
multiple times in the
composite element.
Optional May or may not occur in a

element particular instance of the

BABoK V3 Techniques
data element.
Strengths
 Ensures all stakeholders are in agreement on

format, and content of relevant information.
 Capturing these definitions in a single
model ensures consistent usage.
Limitations
 Should be maintained regularly, else can

lead to obsolete or incorrect metadata.
 Maintenance has to be done consistently to
ensure quick and easy retrieval of
information.
 Metadata required by multiple scenarios must
be taken into account.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.13 Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)
DFDs show transformation of data from (data

source such as external sources, activities,
and destination). They are useful for
depicting a transaction-based systems and
boundaries of a physical, logical, or manual
system. Data used in DFD should be described
in a data dictionary.
DFDs can be at multiple layers of abstraction,

highest level diagram (Level 0) is context
diagram representing the entire system.
Context Diagram Gane-Sarson Notation
Level 1, next level of DFD illustrate the

processes related to the system with the
respective input data, output transformed
data, and data stores.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Level 1 Diagram Yourdon Notation
Further levels of the data flow diagram (level

2, level 3 and so forth) break down the major
processes from the level 1 diagram.
Logical data flow diagrams represent the

future or essential state—that is, what
transformations need to occur regardless of
the current physical limitations. Physical
data flow diagrams model all of the data
stores, printers, forms, devices, and other
manifestations of data. The physical diagram
can show either the current state or how it
will be implemented.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.1 Externals (Entity, Source, Sink)
An external (entity, source, sink) is a

person, organization, automated system, or any
device capable of producing data or receiving
data. It is outside of the system under
analysis.
Each external must have at least one data flow

going to or coming from it. Externals are
represented by using a noun inside a rectangle
and are found within context-level diagrams as
well as lower levels of abstraction.
.2 Data Store
Data stores store data for future use. Each

data store must have at least one data flow
going to or coming from it. A data store is
represented as either two parallel lines or as
an open-ended rectangle with a label.
.3 Process
Processes transform data into an output.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Naming standards for a process should contain

a verb and a noun. Each process must have at
least one data flow going to it and one data
flow coming from it. A data process is
represented as a circle or rectangle with
rounded corners.
.4 Data Flow
Data flows indicate movement of data between

an external, a process, and a data store. Data
flows are represented as a line with an arrow
displayed between processes. The data flow is
named using a noun.
Data Flow Diagram Yourdon Notation
Strengths

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Used to discover processes and data

 Verify of functional decompositions or data
models.
 Excellent ways to define the scope of a
system and its interfaces
 Estimation of the effort needed to study the
work.
 Relatively easy to understand.
 Helps to identify duplicated data elements
or misapplied data elements.
 Illustrates connections to other systems.
 Can be used as part of system documentation.
 Helps to explain the logic behind the data
flow within a system.
Limitations
 Can become complex for large-scale systems.

 Different methods of notation exists.
 Does not illustrate a sequence of
activities.
 No information about processes or
stakeholders.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.14 Data Mining
Data mining improves decision making by

finding useful patterns and insights from
data. It is an analytic process that examines
large amounts of data from different
perspectives and summarizes the data in such a
way that useful patterns and relationships are
discovered.
Results of data mining techniques are

generally mathematical models describing
underlying patterns and relationships. Data
mining can be utilized in either supervised
(user poses a question) or unsupervised (pure
pattern discovery) investigations.
Data mining has 3 primary techniques:
Descriptive: Such as clustering make it easier

to see the patterns in a set of data, such as
similarities between customers.
Diagnostic: Such as decision trees or

segmentation can show why a pattern exists,

BABoK V3 Techniques
such as the characteristics of an

organization's most profitable customers.
Predictive: Such as regression or neural

networks can show how likely something is to
be true in the future, such as predicting the
probability that a particular claim is
fraudulent.
.1 Requirements Elicitation
Define goal and scope of data mining such as

support for an important identified business
decision, or domain-specific pattern
discovery. This top-down versus a bottom-up
mining strategy allows analysts to pick the
correct set of data mining techniques.
Formal decision modelling techniques are used

to define requirements for top-down data
mining exercises. Data mining exercises are
more effective in agile environment.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.2 Data Preparation: Analytical Dataset
Data mining tools work on an analytical

dataset which are formed by merging records
from multiple tables or sources into a single,
wide dataset. Repeating groups are typically
collapsed into multiple sets of fields.
Analytic data set may be physical file or

virtual file. Data volumes can be very large,
sometimes resulting in the need to work with
samples or to work in-data store so that the
data does not have to be moved around.
.3 Data Analysis
Apply wide variety of statistical measures and

use visualization tools to see how data values
are distributed, what data is missing, and how
various calculated characteristics behave.
This step is often the longest and most
complex in a data mining effort and is
increasingly the focus of automation.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.4 Modelling Techniques
1. Classification and regression trees (CART),

C5 and other decision tree analysis
techniques,
2. Linear and logistic regression,
3. Neural networks,
4. Support sector machines, and
5. Predictive (additive) scorecards.
.5 Deployment
For human users, data mining results may be

presented using visual metaphors or as simple
data fields. Potential business rules can be
deployed using a business rules management
system. Such executable business rules can be
fitted into a decision model along with expert
rules as necessary.
Some data mining techniques—especially those

described as predictive analytic techniques—
result in mathematical formulas. These can
also be deployed as executable business rules
but can also be used to generate SQL or code

BABoK V3 Techniques
for deployment.
Strengths
 Reveals hidden patterns and useful insights

 Can be integrated into system design to
increase accuracy of the data.
 Can be used to eliminate or reduce human
bias.
Limitations
 Can take considerable effort.

 Applying techniques without a thorough
understanding can result in erroneous
correlations.
 May lead to accidental misuse.
 Require specialist knowledge to work with.
 Some techniques use advanced math and may
not have high transparency which can cause
resistance from some stakeholders.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.15 Data Modelling
Data model describe entities, classes or data

objects relevant to a domain, their
attributes, and relationships among them.
There are several variations of data models:
Conceptual data model: Independent of any

solution. Used to represent how business
perceives its information. It can be used to
help establish a consistent vocabulary
describing business information and the
relationships within that information.
Logical data model: Incorporates rules of

normalization to formally manage the integrity
of the data and relationships. Used to design
a solution.
Physical data model: Describe how a database

is physically organized. It addresses concerns
like performance, concurrency, and security.
At the conceptual level, different data

modelling notations are likely to produce
BABoK V3 Techniques
broadly similar results and can be thought of

as a single technique (as presented here).
Logical and physical data models include
elements specific to the solutions they
support, and are generally developed by
stakeholders with expertise in implementing
particular technical solutions.
For instance, logical and physical entity-

relationship diagrams (ERDs) would be used to
implement a relational database, whereas a
logical or physical class diagram would be
used to support object-oriented software
development.
Object diagrams can be used to illustrate

particular instances of entities from a data
model. They can include actual sample values
for the attributes, making object diagrams
more concrete and more easily understood.
.1 Entity or Class
Entities may represent something physical

(such as a Warehouse), something
BABoK V3 Techniques
organizational (such as a Sales Area),

something abstract (such as a Product Line),
or an event (such as an Appointment). In a
class diagram, entities are referred to as
classes. Like an entity in a data model, a
class contains attributes and has
relationships with other classes. A class also
contains operations or functions that describe
what can be done with the class, such as
generating an invoice or opening a bank
account.
Each instance of an entity or class will have

a unique identifier that sets it apart from
other instances.
.2 Attribute
Attributes define particular piece of

information associated with an entity,
including how much information can be captured
in it (size), its allowable values, and the
type of information it represents. Attributes
can be described in a data dictionary.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Allowable values may be specified through

business rules. Attributes can include such
values as:
Name: a unique name for the attribute. Other

names used by stakeholders may be captured as
aliases.
Values/Meanings: a list of acceptable values

for the attribute. This may be expressed as an
enumerated list or as a description of allowed
formats for the data (including information
such as the number of characters). If the
values are abbreviated this will include an
explanation of the meaning.
Description: the definition of the attribute

in the context of the solution.
.3 Relationship or Association
Term cardinality is used to refer to the

minimum and maximum number of occurrences to
which an entity may be related. Typical
cardinality values are zero, one, and many.

BABoK V3 Techniques
The relationship between two entities may be

read in either direction, using this format:
Each occurrence (of this entity) is related to

(minimum, maximum) (of this other entity). In
a class model, the term association is used
instead of relationship and multiplicity is
used instead of cardinality.
.4 Diagrams
Diagram in a
data model is
called an
entity-
relationship
diagram (ERD).
In a class model, the diagram is called a
class diagram.
Entity-Relationship Diagram (Crow's Foot

Notation)

BABoK V3 Techniques
Class Diagram (UML®)
Class names optionally can have a stereotype

which defines additional properties.
<<stereotype>>
.5 Metadata
A data model optionally contains metadata

describing what the entities represent, when
and why they were created or changed, how they
should be used, how often they are used, when,
and by whom. There could be restrictions on
their creation or use, as well as security,
privacy, and audit constraints on specific
entities or whole groups of entities.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Can be used to define and communicate a

consistent vocabulary used by domain subject
matter experts and implementation subject
matter experts.
 Review of a logical data model helps to
ensure that the logical design of persistent
data correctly represents the business need.
 Provides a consistent approach to analyzing
and documenting data and its relationships.
 Offers the flexibility of different levels
of detail, which provides just enough
information for the respective audience.
 Formal modelling of the information held by
the business may expose new requirements as
inconsistencies are identified.
Limitations
 Following data modelling standards too

rigorously may lead to models that are
unfamiliar to people without a background in
IT.
 May extend across multiple functional areas
BABoK V3 Techniques
of the organization, and so beyond the

business knowledge base of individual
stakeholders.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.16 Decision analysis
Decision analysis supports decision-making in

dealing with complex, difficult, or uncertain
situations. It examines, and models the
possible consequences of different decisions.
Effective decision analysis requires that the
analyst understand:
 Values, goals, and objectives relevant to

the decision problem
 Nature of the decision that must be made
 Areas of uncertainty that affect the
decision
 Consequences of each possible decision.
Decision analysis approaches use the following

activities:

BABoK V3 Techniques
Define
problem
statement
Implement Define
choice Alternatives
Choose
Evaluate
alternative to
Alternatives
implement
Components of decision analysis:
1. Description of the decision to be made or

the problem statement
2. Person responsible for taking the
decision
3. Possible alternatives
4. Decision criteria to evaluate the
alternatives
Decision matrices
There are two types: Simple decision matrix

and Weighted decision matrix.
In a simple decision matrix, each alternate is

checked to see whether it meets each criterion

BABoK V3 Techniques
under evaluation or not. After this, the

number of criteria matched for each alternate
is tallied.
In a weighted decision matrix options are

assessed against weighted criterions. The
weight is assigned based on importance. The
higher the weighting, the more important the
criterion.
Decision trees
Used to assess the preferred outcome when

multiple sources of uncertainty exists.
Decision trees include:
Decision nodes:
includes different strategies
Chance nodes:
Defines uncertain outcomes
Terminator or end nodes:

Identifies final outcome
Trade-offs

BABoK V3 Techniques
Trade-offs are needed whenever a decision

problem involves multiple, possibly
conflicting, objectives. Effective methods
include:
 Elimination of clearly inferior or dominated

alternatives
 Ranking objectives on a similar scale
Strengths
 Effective technique to determine the

expected value of an alternative scenarios.
 May force stakeholders to honestly assess
the importance they place on different
alternatives.
 Assists stakeholders under pressure to
assess options based on criteria rather than
emotions and descriptions
 Helps BAs to construct suitable metrics to
compare financial and non-financial
outcomes.
Limitations
 Requires specialized knowledge of

BABoK V3 Techniques
probability, and skills.

 Information may not be available on time to
take an informed decision
 Decisions may have to be taken immediately
at times
 Tendency to treat results of decision
analysis as more certain than they actually

are.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.17 Decision modeling
Decision modelling shows how repeatable

business decisions are made using data and
knowledge for any decision, simple or complex.
Comprehensive decision model is an overarching

model that is linked to processes, performance
measures, and organizations. It shows where
the business rules come from and represents
decisions as analytical insight.
.1 Types of Models and Notations
Decision tables represent all the rules

required to make an atomic decision.
Decision Tables
A decision table is a compact, tabular

representation of a set of these rules. Each
row (or column) is a rule and each column (or
row) represents one of the conditions of that
rule.
When all the conditions in a particular rule

BABoK V3 Techniques
evaluate to true for a set of input data, the

outcome or action specified for that rule is
selected.
Criteria Graduate Post graduate
Scored > 60% Not eligible Eligible
Scored > 75% Eligible Eligible
Decision Trees
In decision trees, each path on a decision

tree leaf node is a single rule. Each level in
the tree represents a specific data element;
the downstream branches represent the
different conditions that must be true to
continue
down
that
branch.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Decision Requirements Diagrams
A decision requirements diagram shows

information, knowledge, and decision making
involved in a more complex business decision.
It contains following elements:
Decisions: shown as rectangles. Each decision

takes a set of inputs and selects from a
defined set of possible outputs by applying
business rules and other decision logic.
Input Data: shown as ovals, representing data

that must be passed as an input to a decision
on the diagram.
Business Knowledge Models: shown as a

rectangle with the corners cut off,
representing sets of business rules, decision
tables, decision trees, or even predictive
BABoK V3 Techniques
analytic models that describe precisely how to

make a decision.
Knowledge Sources: shown as a document,

representing the original source documents or
people from which the necessary decision logic
can be or has been derived.
Solid arrows show the information requirements

for a decision.
Dashed arrows display knowledge requirements.
Knowledge sources can be linked to decisions

with a dashed, rounded arrow to show that a
knowledge source (for example, a document or
person) is an authority for the decision. This
is called an authority requirement.
Strengths
1. Easy to share and understand

2. Facilitate a shared understanding
3. Support impact analysis
BABoK V3 Techniques
4. Multiple perspectives can be shared and

combined, especially when a diagram is used.
5. Decision tables help in managing large
numbers of
6. Helps with reuse.
7. Can work for rules-based automation, data
mining, predictive analytics, and BI
projects.
Limitations
1. Unnecessary for simple decisions which are

coupled to the process.
2. May limit rules to those required by known
decisions and so limit the capture of rules
not related to a known decision.
3. Practices may differ from model.
4. Difficult to acquire any necessary sign-off
when rules are cross-functional.
5. May not address behavioural business rules
in a direct fashion.
6. Needs clearly defined business terminology
to avoid data quality issues for process
automation.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.18 Document analysis
Document analysis is used to elicit BA

information, by examining materials which
describe about the business environment or
organizational assets. Document analysis helps
in understanding the context of a business
need or understanding how existing solutions
are implemented. Based on BA information being
explored, the purpose, scope and topics to be
researched are determined.
Data mining, an approach to document analysis

is used to analyze data to group it into
categories, determine patterns and
opportunities for change. Background research
gathered through document analysis comprises
of reviewing materials like marketing studies,
industry standards, guidelines etc. Document
analysis about an existing solution may
comprise of reviewing business rules,
technical documentation, previous requirements
documents, problem reports etc. in order to
determine how the existing solution works and

BABoK V3 Techniques
the reason for implementing it the way it is.

It is also useful when SMEs are no longer
present or available for the duration of the
elicitation process.
Steps for conducting document analysis
1. Preparation
BAs consider the following aspects pertaining
to the content
 Relevance
 Credibility
 Understandability
 Ease with which the content can be conveyed
2. Performing document review and analysis

 Conduct detailed review of each document’s
content and record relevant notes associated
with it
 Identify conflicting or duplicate notes
 Note any gaps in knowledge
3. Record findings
 Check whether the content and level of
detail is appropriate

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Check whether materials should be

transformed into visual aids to improve
understanding
Strengths
 Existing source material can be used as a

basis for analysis
 BA need not create any content
 Existing sources can be used as a point of
reference to determine what is current and
what has changed
 Results can be used to validate against
results of other elicitation techniques
 Findings can be presented in easy to
understand formats
Limitations
 Limited to “as-is” perspective

 Existing documentation may not be up-to-date
or valid
 Unavailability of authors for clarification
 Can be time-consuming, and tedious process
to locate relevant information when there is

BABoK V3 Techniques
a wide range of sources

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.19 Estimation
Estimation techniques are used for better

understanding of possible range of costs, and
effort associated with any initiative. It is
an iterative process. Estimation techniques
are used when it is impossible to determine
exact costs. Note that estimation techniques
do not eliminate uncertainty, rather help to
get a reasonable assessment of likely costs or
effort required. Representing estimation as a
range of values, with minimum and maximum may
add more value to stakeholders.
Different techniques of estimation
1. Top-down estimation
This approach is used to examine components at

a high level in a hierarchical breakdown.
2. Bottom-up estimation
Bottom-up estimation uses WBS technique to
estimate deliverables, activities, tasks, and
estimates from all the involved stakeholders,
and rolls them up to get a total for all the

BABoK V3 Techniques
activities, and tasks. Because it is normally

easier to estimate smaller items than larger
items, bottom-up estimating can produce the
most accurate, and defensible estimates.
3. Parametric estimation
Uses a calibrated parametric model of the
element attributes. For example, if one has
historical data available, which indicates it
takes 24 hours to develop one use case, one
can estimate that it will take 480 hours for
developing 20 use cases.
4. Rough order of magnitude (ROM)

Based on limited information, a high level
estimate is prepared which may have a very
wide confidence interval.
5. Rolling Wave
Rolling wave technique involves continual
refinement of estimates. Estimate the details
for activities in the current iteration or
increment, and extrapolate it for the entire
scope of work. As the end of the iteration
approaches, estimates for the next iteration

BABoK V3 Techniques
can be made, and the initial estimate for all

activities is refined.
6. Delphi Estimation
Uses a combination of expert judgment, and
history. There are several variations on this
process, but they all include individual
estimates, sharing the estimates with experts,
and having several rounds until consensus is
reached.
7. PERT (Program Evaluation Review

Technique)
Each component of the estimate is given three
values:
1. Optimistic estimate, or best-case scenario.

2. Pessimistic estimate, or worst-case
scenario.
3. Most likely estimate.
Note that the most likely estimate is not an

average of best, and worst case scenarios. It
requires in depth knowledge of the situation.
Under the right circumstances, the best- case
scenario may also be the most likely. A PERT

BABoK V3 Techniques
value for each estimated component is computed

as a weighted average:
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4 times Most

Likely))/6.
Accuracy of the estimates
It is a measure of uncertainty that evaluates

how close an estimate is to the actual value
measured later.
Sources of information
Analogous situations
• Using an element (project, initiative, risk, or other) like
the element being estimated.
Organization History
• Prior experiences of the organization with similar work.
Expert Judgement
 Estimating relies on the expertise of those who

have performed the work in the past.
Precision and Reliability of Estimates
Precision is how close the estimates are to

each other when multiple estimates are made

BABoK V3 Techniques
for a particular attribute. Reliability of an

estimate is its repeatability when different
methods of estimating are used.
Contributors to Estimates
The estimators of an element are frequently

those responsible for that element.
Strengths
 Estimates can help stakeholders make better

decisions based on an improved understanding
of the likely outcomes from an initiative.
 Having a small team of knowledgeable
individuals can provide a better estimate
than that provided by a single individual.
Limitations
 Stakeholders treat estimates as commitments,

and expect that the solution team will meet
the time, and cost estimate.
 Use of a single estimation method can set
unrealistic expectations among stakeholders.
 Accuracy of estimates depends on the

BABoK V3 Techniques
knowledge level about the elements.

 Often consciously or unconsciously altered
to match the desires of influential

stakeholders.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.20 Financial analysis
Financial analysis explores financial aspects

(benefits and costs) of an investment. Costs
to consider are:
o Initial cost with time frame of investments,

o Expected financial benefits with time frame,
o Ongoing usage and support costs.
o Risk factors for investment.
Cost of the Change
Expected cost of building or acquiring the

solution components and costs of
transitioning.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Cost of change + Usage cost + Support cost for

a period
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Expected total benefits - expected total costs

BABoK V3 Techniques
Financial Calculations
Return on Investment
Net benefits * 100 / Cost of the change
When making a comparison between potential

investments, the business analyst should use
the same time period for both.
Discount Rate
Assumed interest rate + risk premium.
Present Value
Present Value = Sum of (Net Benefits in that

period / (1 + Discount Rate for that period))
for all periods in the cost-benefit analysis.
Present value does not consider the cost of

the original investment.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Net Present Value
Net present value (NPV) is the present value

of the benefits minus the original cost of the
investment.
Net Present Value = Present Value – Cost of

Investment
Internal Rate of Return
Interest rate at which a NPV becomes 0.
Payback Period
Time period required to generate enough

benefits to recover the cost of the change
Strengths
 Objective comparison
 Assumptions and estimates are clearly stated
which can be challenged.
 Reduces uncertainty by identifying and
analyzing influencing factors

BABoK V3 Techniques
Limitation
 Some costs and benefits are difficult to

quantify.
 Numbers often gives false sense of security.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.21 Focus groups
Focus groups elicit ideas, and attitudes from

pre-qualified individuals about a specific
product, service or opportunity in an
interactive group environment. Participants
share their impressions, preferences, and
needs, guided by a moderator. Focus groups are
typically 1 to 2 hours in length.
Focus groups can be utilized during any life-

cycle state: exploratory, under development,
ready to launch, or in production. For a
product ‘under development’, focus group’s
ideas are analyzed in relationship to the
stated requirements. This may result in
updating existing requirements or uncovering
new requirements. For a ‘to be launched’
product, focus group may influence how to
position the product in the market. For a
product ‘in production’, focus group may
provide direction on the revisions to the next

BABoK V3 Techniques
release of requirements.
Focus groups may also serve as a means to

assess customer satisfaction with a product or
service. Observers may record or monitor the
focus group but should not participate. Being a
form of qualitative research, focus group
results are analyzed, and reported as themes,
and perspectives, rather than numerical
findings.
Traditional focus groups gather in the same

physical room. However, online focus groups
allow members to be located remotely.
Focus groups are similar to brainstorming

sessions. Differences are
 Focus groups are typically more structured,

and mandate a moderator.
 Brainstorming session’s goal is to actively
seek broad, creative, even exaggerated
ideas.
Steps for focus group

BABoK V3 Techniques
1. Have a clear and specific objective for

the focus group
2. Have a focus group plan which defines
activities like purpose, location,
logistics, participants, budget,
timelines, outcomes etc.
3. Recruit participants
Participants should be willing to share their

perspectives on a specific topic as well as
listen to others opinions. A focus group
typically has 6-12 attendees. Invite additional
individuals to allow for non-attendance due to
scheduling conflicts, emergencies or for other
reasons. If many people need to participate,
run more focus groups. Topic of the focus group
influences who should be recruited. If the
topic is a new product, existing users
(experts, and novices) should be included.
4. Create discussion guide
Provides a prepared script for the moderator

comprising of specific questions and topics to
be discussed during the session. Includes

BABoK V3 Techniques
reminders to welcome participants, explain

goals/objectives of the session, how to conduct
the session and how to use the feedback.
5. Assign moderator, and recorder

Moderator should be experienced in facilitating
groups. Typical skills include ability to:
 Promote discussion.
 Ask open questions - requiring or promoting
an extended response.
 Facilitate interactions between group
members.
 Engage all members.
 Keep session focused.
 Remain neutral.
 Be adaptable, and flexible.
Recorder takes notes during the session. BAs
can fill the role of either moderator or
recorder.
6. Conduct focus group session
Sessions usually last for 1-2 hours. Follow a

pre-planned script of specific issues, and

BABoK V3 Techniques
ensure the focus group objectives are met.

However, the discussion should appear free-
flowing, and relatively unstructured to the
participants.
7. After the focus group
Moderator analyses, and documents

participants’ agreements, and disagreements,
looks for trends and produces a summary report.
Strengths
 Saves time, and cost compared to conducting

multiple individual interviews.
 Effective for learning people’s attitudes,
experiences, and desires.
 Encourages active participation and
discussion which enables participants to
analyze their personal views with regard to
others.
 Online focus groups works best when
participants are distributed geographically

BABoK V3 Techniques
Limitations
 Issues of trust, or unwillingness to discuss

sensitive or personal topics may arise in a
group setting.
 Data collected (what people say) may not be
consistent with how they actually behave.
 Homogeneous groups may not represent
complete set of requirements.
 Skilled moderator is needed to manage group
interactions, and discussions.
 Difficult to schedule.
 Limited interaction and inability to read
body language can be a flaw in online focus
groups.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.22 Functional decomposition
Functional decomposition breaks down a large

aspect (processes, functional areas,
deliverables, scope, or problems) into smaller
aspects, as independent as possible, so that
work can be assigned to different groups.
Doing so reduces the complexity of analysis.
Functional decomposition provides ability to
scale, and manage larger projects.
Decomposition objectives determine the process

of decomposition and defines what to
decompose, how to decompose and how deeply to
decompose. Objectives may vary from isolating
specific manageable factors, simplifying a
design problem, estimating and forecasting
constituent factors, reusing and optimizing
solutions etc.
Functional decomposition can be applied to

diverse subjects like:

BABoK V3 Techniques
Business Work to be Business

outcomes done process
Solution
Function Business unit
component
Products and
Activity Decisions
services
The appropriate level of functional

decomposition defines where, why, and when to
stop decomposing the subject in order to meet
the analysis objectives. Functional
decomposition can be represented by a
combination of plain textual descriptions,
hierarchical diagram, programming languages,
visual diagrams etc.
Work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposes

project scope in phases, work packages, and
deliverables.
Strengths
 Helps to manage complex problems by breaking

them into parts.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Provides all stakeholders with a shared

understanding of complex matters.
 Assists in estimating and measuring the
amount of time to be invested.
Limitations
 No way to be certain that all components

have been captured.
 Decomposing without fully understanding the
relationship between pieces creates an
inappropriate structure.
 Missing or incorrect information during
decomposition can lead to re-work later on.
 Calls for deep knowledge of the subject and
extensive collaboration with various

stakeholders.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.23 Glossary
Comprises of key terms relevant to a business

domain in order to provide a common
understanding of terms. It contains
definitions as well as synonyms. A glossary is
organized and continuously accessible to all
stakeholders.
A term is included in a glossary when:
1. It is unique to a domain
2. It has multiple definitions
3. Commonly used meaning is different from
that which is used within the domain
4. There is chance for misunderstanding
Glossaries should be defined in the early

stages of the project to enhance understanding
and transfer knowledge. A person responsible
for maintaining the glossary should be
identified and editing should be limited to
specific stakeholders only.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Promotes communication and common

understanding of the business domain.
 Acts as a single reference and encourages
consistency.
 Simplifies the writing and maintenance of
BA information like requirements,
business rules etc.
Limitations
 Requires a dedicated person to update and

maintain.
 May prove challenging to stakeholders to
agree on a single definition for a term.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.24 Interface analysis
An interface is a connection between two

components or solutions. Interface analysis
identifies interfaces, and interactions between
solutions, and/or solution components.
Interface types include:
1. User interfaces, including human users

directly interacting with the system, as
well as reports provided.
2. Data interfaces between systems
3. Application programming interfaces (APIs)
4. Hardware devices
5. Business processes
6. People external to the organization
Interface analysis defines and clarifies

aspects like:
 Who will use the interface?

 What kind of information will be exchanged
through the interface?
 When information will be exchanged and how
frequently

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Where the information exchange will occur

 Why the interface is needed
 How the interface is or should be
implemented etc.
The early identification of interfaces allows
the business analysts to determine which
stakeholders will get affected and who should
be present during elicitation.
Preparing for identification
BAs can utilize techniques like document

analysis, observation, scope modelling,
interviews etc. to understand which interfaces
need to be identified.
Conduct interface identification
BAs identify the interfaces which are needed in

the future for each stakeholder or system that
interacts with the system. They describe the
function of the interface, assess the usage,
evaluate the suitable type and elicit details
about the interface.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Define interfaces
Interface definition includes name of the

interface, exchange method between entities,
message format, exchange frequency etc.
Strengths
 Early identification of interfaces leads to

increased functional coverage.
 Clear specification of the interfaces
provides a structured means of allocating
requirements, business rules, and
constraints to the solution.
 Avoids over analysis of fine detail owing to
its broad application.
Limitations
 Does not provide insight into internal
components / other aspects of the solution.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.25 Interviews
Interviews are a common form of elicitation

technique where interviewers ask questions to
stakeholders. Effective interviewers control
discussions, understand needs from all
stakeholders, probe deeper when needed and
ensure completeness of answers. c
Successful interviewing depends on:
1. domain understanding of the interviewer,

2. experience and willingness of the
interviewer,
3. interviewer skill in documenting
discussions,
4. interviewee readiness to provide the
relevant information
5. clarity in interviewee’s mind about the
interview goal, and
6. Rapport between interviewer and
interviewee.
Elements

BABoK V3 Techniques
.1 Interview Goal
Consider purpose of interviews, based on a

business need, individual goals for each
interview, based on what the interviewee can
provide. Communicate goals clearly to
interviewees.
.2 Potential Interviewees
Identified potential interviewees along with

PM, sponsors, and other stakeholders, based on
the goals for the interview.
.3 Interview Questions
Design interview questions according to the

interview goals, such as:
Data collection, research stakeholder’s view

of the change or proposed solution, develop a
proposed solution, or build rapport with
interviewees.
Use open-ended questions to encourage

BABoK V3 Techniques
description. These are good tools to encourage

thinking.
Use closed questions to elicit a single

response such as yes, no, or a specific
number. Closed questions are useful to clarify
or confirm a previous answer.
Organize interview questions based on priority

and significance. Order questions in a flow
such as general to specific, start to finish,
and detailed to summary, interviewee's level
of knowledge and the subject of the interview.
.4 Interview Logistics
Pay attention to logistics aspects such as,

location (should be adapted to the schedule
and availability of the interviewees) and the
mode of communication (in-person, phone, or
online conferencing), recording needs, whether
to send the questions to the interviewees in
advance.
Only when the interviewee needs to collect

BABoK V3 Techniques
information to prepare for the interview, send

questions in advance.
.5 Interview Flow
Opening:
1. Describe purpose and why the interviewees'

time is needed,
2. Confirm interviewees' roles
3. Address any initial concerns raised by the
interviewees, and
4. Explain how information from the interview
will be recorded and shared with the
interviewees and other stakeholders.
During the interview, the interviewer:
1. Maintain focus on the established goals and

predefined questions,
2. Adapt based on the information provided and
non-verbal clues,
3. Provide the required information,
4. Considers multiple sessions if needed,
5. Manage concerns raised by addressing them

BABoK V3 Techniques
during the interview or documenting them for

follow-up,
6. Practice active listening to confirm what
interviewees have said, and
7. Take written notes or records the interview
as appropriate.
Closing the interview includes:
1. Check for areas that may have been

overlooked in the session,
2. Provide contact information for the
interviewees to follow up with additional
information after the meeting as needed,
3. Summarizing the session,
4. Outlining the process for how the interview
results will be used, and
5. Thank interviewees for their time.
.6 Interview Follow-Up
Organize interview information and confirm

results quickly.
Strengths

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Encourages participation,
 Builds rapport with stakeholders,
 Simple, direct technique,
 Allows discussions and explanations,
 Allows observations of non-verbal behavior,
 Interviewers can ask follow-up and probing
questions to confirm their own
understanding,
 Allows interviewees to express opinions in
private that they may be reluctant to
express in public.
Limitations
 Significant time required to plan for and

conduct interviews.
 Requires considerable commitment and
involvement of the participants.
 Trained facilitator required to conduct
effective interviews.
 Subject to the interviewer's interpretation.
 Risk of unintentionally leading the
interviewee.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.26 Item tracking
Item tracking captures and assigns

responsibility for issues and stakeholder
concerns. Item can refer to actions,
assumptions, constraints, dependencies,
defects, enhancements, and issues.
.1 Item Record
Record items, manually or through a system,

which may contain all or any of the following
attributes:
a. Item Identifier: a unique identifier

b. Summary: a brief description of the
item.
c. Category: a grouping of items with
similar properties.
d. Type: the kind of item raised.
e. Date Identified
f. Identified by
g. Impact: Possible consequences. Impact
can be assessed wrt time, cost,
scope, or quality.

BABoK V3 Techniques
h. Priority
i. Resolution date
j. Owner
k. Resolver: the stakeholder assigned to
resolve the item
l. Agreed Strategy: Such as accept,
pursue, ignore, mitigate, and avoid.
m. Status: Such as open, assigned,
resolved, and cancelled.
n. Resolution Updates: a running log of
details about how the item’s
resolution is proceeding
o. Escalation Matrix.
.2 Item Management
Each item must be tracked to its closure or

resolution.
.3 Metrics
Report on item tracking performance.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Ensures stakeholder concerns are tracked,

and resolved.
 Allows stakeholders to rank the importance
of outstanding items.
Limitations
 Can be expensive to capture and track,

 Consumes productive time,
 Stakeholders could become mired in details
and statistics.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.27 Lessons Learned
Lessons learned process (also known as a

retrospective) compiles and documents
successes, opportunities for improvement,
failures, and recommendations for improving the
performance of future projects or project
phases.
It helps to identify changes to business

analysis processes and deliverables.
Lessons learned sessions can include any format

or venue that is acceptable to the key
stakeholders and can be either formal
facilitated meetings with set agendas and
meeting roles or informal working sessions.
Review following during Lessons learned

session:
1. BA activities or deliverables,
2. Final solution, service, or product,
3. automation introduced or eliminated,
4. Impact to organizational processes,

BABoK V3 Techniques
5. Performance expectations and results,

6. Root causes impacting performance results,
and
7. Recommendations for behavioral approaches.
Strengths
 Identifies areas of improvement with the

project structure, methodology, or tools
used,
 Assists in building team morale,
 Reinforces positive experiences,
 Reduces risks for future projects,
 Provides tangible metrics,
 Recognizes strengths or shortcomings.
Limitations
 Can become blame game,

 Participants may be unwilling to document
and discuss problems.
 Proactive facilitation may be required to
ensure discussions remain focused on
solutions and improvement opportunities.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.28 Metrics and Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs)
Metrics and KPIs measure the performance of

solutions, solution components, and other
matters of interest to stakeholders.
A metric is a quantifiable level of an

indicator used to measure progress.
A target metric is the objective to be reached

within a specified period.
An indicator identifies a specific numerical

measurement that represents the degree of
progress toward achieving a goal, objective,
output, activity, or further input.
A key performance indicator (KPI) is one that

measures progress towards a strategic goal or
objective.
Reporting is the process of informing

stakeholders of metrics or indicators in
specified formats and at specified intervals.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Monitoring is a continuous process of data

collection used to determine how well a
solution has been implemented as compared to
the expected results.
Evaluation is the systematic and objective

assessment of a solution to determine its
status and effectiveness in meeting objectives
over time and to identify ways to improve the
solution to better meet objectives.
.1 Indicators
A good indicator has 6 characteristics:
1. Clear: precise and unambiguous.

2. Relevant: appropriate to the concern.
3. Economical: available at reasonable cost.
4. Adequate: provides a sufficient basis on
which to assess performance.
5. Quantifiable: can be independently
validated.
6. Trustworthy and Credible: based on evidence
and research.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Use proxies when data for direct indicators

are not available or when it is not feasible
to collect at regular intervals.
When establishing an indicator, consider its

source, method of collection, collector, cost,
frequency, and difficulty of collection.
Secondary sources of data may be the most
economical, may not be very good indicator.
Use primary research such as surveys,

interviews, or direct observations if
necessary.
.2 Metrics
In setting a metric for an indicator, it is

important to have a clear understanding of the
baseline starting point, resources that can be
devoted to improving the factors covered by
the indicator, and political concerns.
A metric can be a specific point, a threshold,

or a range. Range can be useful if the

BABoK V3 Techniques
indicator is new.
.3 Structure
Establish data collection, analysis and

reporting procedure.
Data collection procedure covers units of

analysis, sampling procedures, data collection
instruments to use, collection frequency, and
responsibility for collection.
Specify analysis method for conducting the

data analysis.
Reporting procedure covers the report

templates, recipients, frequency, and means of
communication.
Baseline information is the data provided

immediately before or at the beginning of a
period. Baseline data is used learn about
recent performance and to measure progress
from that point forward.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Ensure quality of indicators and metrics:

reliability, validity, and timeliness.
.4 Reporting
Reports compare baseline, current metrics, and

target metrics. Trends are usually more
credible and important than absolute metrics.
Visual presentations tend to be more effective
than tables.
Strengths
 Allows stakeholders to understand the extent

to which a solution meets an objective
 Facilitate organizational alignment, linking
goals to objectives, supporting solutions,
underlying tasks, and resources.
Limitations
 Data collection, analysis, and reporting can

be expensive
 Can distract project members from other
responsibilities, especially on agile

BABoK V3 Techniques
projects.
 Can become bureaucratic, expensive and
useless.
 Mostly no feedback is provided to
stakeholders collecting metric data as to
understand how their actions are affecting
the quality of the project results.
 Can lead to sub-optimal performance when
metrics are used to assess performance.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.29 Mind mapping
Mind mapping helps in articulating and

capturing ideas in a non-linear (tree)
structure. Ideas are grouped as topics, sub-
topics, further sub-sub-topics. Mind maps use
words, images, colour, and connections to
structure thoughts, ideas, and information.
Strengths
 Effective collaboration and communication

tool.
 Structures complex thoughts, ideas, and
information.
 Facilitate understanding and decision
making.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Enable creative problem solving.
Limitations
 Can be misused as a brainstorming tool

 Can become complex with details.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.30 Non-functional requirements

analysis
Non-functional requirements (NFRs) analysis

examines the requirements for a solution that
define how well the functional requirements
must perform. Such requirements are also known
as quality attributes or quality of service
requirements. They are generally expressed in
textual formats as declarative statements or
in matrices
NFR categories
Availability Extent to which solution is operable and
accessible when required
Compatibility Ability to co-exist, and interact with other

applications
Functionality Extent to which user needs are met by the

solution functions.
Maintainability Ability to change one component without

affecting others, and without causing
unexpected failures, ability to re-use
components, and testability.
Performance Time taken to perform activities, and resource

BABoK V3 Techniques
efficiency utilization levels.
Portability How easy it is to transfer a solution or

component from one environment to another
Reliability Measure of application being available when

needed. Includes ability of the application to
recover from errors, uptime, or failures in
interfaces.
Scalability Extent to which a solution is able to evolve to

handle increased amounts of work
Security Ability to ensure appropriate confidentiality,

and integrity of information, to verify when
actions were taken, and by whom, and to
authenticate users.
Usability How easy it is for a user to learn how to use

the solution
Certification Constraints on the solution which is necessary

to meet certain standards or industry
convention
Compliance Legal, financial or regulatory constraints

which can differ based on the scenario

BABoK V3 Techniques
Localization Requirements which deal with local languages,

laws, currencies, cultures, spellings etc.
Service Level Organization constraints which are agreed upon

Agreements by the provider and user of the solution
Extensibility Whether the solution is able to incorporate new

functionality
Non-functional requirements must be quantified

to the extent possible in order to be
verifiable and also add value to developers.
Few examples are:
 90% of operators shall be able to use all

the functionality of the system in 6 hours
of training.
 The system shall provide 90% of responses in
less than 2 seconds.
Business analysts may also have to modify the

non-functional requirements based on the
relative stability of the context.
Strengths

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Provides measurable expressions of how well

the functional requirements must perform
 Clearly states the constraints applicable to
a set of functional requirements
Limitations
 More difficult to articulate, and define

than Functional requirements.
 Clarity and usefulness of NFRs depends on
the how well the stakeholders can express
their needs
 Getting agreement on NFRs can be difficult
as different stakeholders may have different
expectations
 Overly stringent NFRs significantly increase
cost and effort for development.
 Many NFRs are qualitative and difficult to
measure on a scale

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.31 Observations aka “Job

shadowing” or “Following people
around”
Used to elicit information by viewing and

understanding activities and their context. It
involves examining a work activity as and when
it is performed.
Observations are of 2 types:
Active/Noticeable observation – Observer asks

questions during the process. May interrupt
the work flow but helps in gaining a quick
understanding.
Passive/Unnoticeable observation - Observer

asks questions at the end. Does not cause
interruption to work.
During observation, collect requirements by

conducting an assessment of the stakeholder’s
work environment. This is useful for:
 Documenting details about current processes.

 When the project’s objective is to enhance

BABoK V3 Techniques
or change a current process.

 Stakeholders are unable to express the
requirements well.
Some possible variations of observations are,
 Stronger intervention in actor’s activities

by asking them to perform specific tasks.
 Participating in actual work to get a hands-
on feel. Limit this to activities
appropriate for a non-expert to perform, and
whose results would not negatively impact
business.
 Becoming temporary apprentice.
 Video recording the activity and viewing it
with the observed person to get further
details.
Steps for observation
Observation objectives
 Have a clear and specific objective about

what should be achieved from the observation
session.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Prepare for observation
 Determine activities to observe.

 Identify sample users (e.g. experts, and
novices or just experts) to observe.
 Prepare observation questions.
Conduct the observation session
 Explain the reason for conducting the

observation
 Assure participants that their work is not
being questioned, and sole purpose is to
gather requirements.
 Inform participants that you are present
only to study their processes.
 Inform users to stop the observation process
at any time if it interferes with their
work.
 Attentively watch the person performing the
activity
 Record what you see, time taken, quality of
work, process anomalies etc.
 Ask questions while the work is being
performed or after the observation session
BABoK V3 Techniques
Confirm and present observation results
 Review notes and recorded data

 Follow up with participants to obtain
further clarification
 Share notes and data with participants to
ease any concerns that they may have
 Validated notes and data are collated with
other related observations
 Findings are summarized, analyzed and
opportunities for improvement are
communicated with stakeholders
Strengths
 Provides realistic, and practical insight

into business processes.
 Productivity can be directly viewed and
compared with standards or performance
metrics.
 Identify informally performed tasks or work-
arounds which may not be documented.
 Recommendations for improvement are based on
evidence

BABoK V3 Techniques
Limitations
 Possible for existing processes only.

 Time-consuming.
 Can be disruptive.
 Participants may alter work practices
 Can’t help in evaluating knowledge based
activities as they cannot be directly
observed.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.32 Organization modeling
Organization modelling describes roles,

responsibilities, and reporting structures
that exist within an organization, and
aligns those structures with the
organization’s goals.
An organizational model is a visual

representation of the organizational unit
which defines:
• Members in the group

• Who reports to whom
• Functional role for each person, and
• Interfaces between the unit and other
units or stakeholders.
Organizational models are categorized into

three types based on:
Functions: Functionally oriented

organizations groups staff together based on
shared skills or areas of expertise. They
encourage a standardization of work or
processes within the organization.
BABoK V3 Techniques
Markets: The term “market-oriented” covers

a number of different possible ways of
organizing an enterprise. It is primarily
intended to serve particular customer
segments, geographical areas, projects or
processes rather than group employees based
on common skills or expertise. Market-
oriented structures enable the organization
to be better oriented with the needs of its
customers, but may develop inconsistencies
in work performance, and duplicate work in
multiple divisions.
Matrix: In matrix model, there are separate

managers for each functional area, and for
each product, service, or customer group.
Staff report to:
 A line manager, who is responsible for

the performance of a type of work, and
for identifying opportunities for
efficiency in the work, and
 A market (product/service/project/etc.)
manager, who is responsible for
BABoK V3 Techniques
managing the product, service, etc.

across multiple functional areas.
Organizational unit comprises of a number of

defined roles and has interfaces with other
organizational units. Organizational charts
is the main diagram for organizational
modelling. BAs also identify influencers in
the organization.
Strengths
 Common in most organizations.

 Including it in BA information enables
future projects to know the participants
involved and their roles.
Limitations
 Out of date at times

 Difficult to figure out the influencers in
the organization

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.33 Prioritization
Prioritization provides a framework for

stakeholder decisions and to understand the
relative importance of business analysis
information. The importance may be based on
value, risk, difficulty of implementation, or
other criteria.
Grouping
Classify into high, medium, or low priority.
Ranking
Rank orders from most to least important.
Time Boxing/Budgeting
Based on the allocation of fixed resources such

as time (duration) or budget (a fixed amount of
money). Used frequently when the solution
approach has been determined.
.4 Negotiation

BABoK V3 Techniques
Establishing a consensus among stakeholders as

to priority requirements.
Strengths
 Facilitates consensus building and trade-

offs
 Ensures solution value is realized,
 Assists in meeting initiative timelines.
Limitations
 Stakeholders avoid difficult choices and do

not make trade-offs.
 Solution team may intentionally or
unintentionally try to influence
prioritization process by overestimating
difficulty or complexity of certain
requirements.
 Absence of metrics and KPIs may make the
process subjective.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.34 Process analysis
Process analysis analyzes processes for their

effectiveness, efficiency and identifies
improvement opportunities.
Process analysis is used for various purposes

including:
a. recommending a more efficient or effective

process,
b. determining the gaps between the current and
future state of a process,
c. understanding factors to be included in a
contract negotiation,
d. understanding how data and technology are
used in a process, and
e. Analyzing the impact of a pending change to
a process.
Common process improvements include:
 Reducing execution time,

 Improving co-ordination between roles and
organizational units to remove errors,
reduction or elimination of bottlenecks,
BABoK V3 Techniques
 Automating routine or predictable steps, and

 Automating process decision making.
When analyzing a process, look for:
 process value addition,

 Alignment to organizational goals and
strategy,
 Process needs to be efficient, effective,
repeated, measured, controlled, used, and
transparent, and
 How requirements for a solution cover the
future state processes.
Identify Gaps and Areas to Improve
 Identify current and desired future state

gaps,
 Identify what gaps and areas are value and
non-value added,
 Understand process challenges from multiple
viewpoints,
 Understand process improvement opportunities
from multiple viewpoints,
 Align improvements with strategic direction

BABoK V3 Techniques
of the organization.
Identify Root Cause
Identifying the root cause of the gaps and

improvement areas ensures that the solution
addresses the right gap and area. When
identifying the root cause, understand:
 there may be multiple root causes,

 Inputs leading to the gap or area of
improvement,
 Right people to identify the root cause, and
 Current measurements and motivators for
those owning or performing the process.
Generate and Evaluate Options
Generate and evaluate options and alternative

solutions to solve for the gap or area of
improvement.
Common Methods
SIPOC
BABoK V3 Techniques
SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and

Customers) originated in Six Sigma methodology
and has been more commonly adopted as a
process analysis method outside of Six Sigma.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value stream mapping (VSM) originated in Lean

methodologies. It involves diagramming and
recording of wait time and processing times
for every processing step.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Ensures solutions address the right issues,

 Minimizing waste,
 Ample flexibilities with respect to
techniques and methodologies.
Limitations
 Time-consuming,
 Challenging to decide which approach to use
and how rigorously to follow them,
 May not be very effective in knowledge or
decision-intensive processes.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.35 Process modeling
Process modelling is a standardized graphical

model used to describe the sequential flow of
work or activities. A system process model
defines the sequential flow of control among
programs or units within a computer system. A
program process flow shows the sequential
execution of program statements within a
software program.
Process models can be constructed on multiple

levels.
Process models can be used to:
 Describe the context of the solution or part

of the solution,
 Describe what actually happens (as is), or
is desired to happen (to be),
 Provide an understandable description of a
sequence of activities to an external
observer,
 Provide a visual to accompany a text
description, and

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Provide a basis for process analysis.
Process models generally include:
 Event, (Basic)
 Activities (both manual and automated, can
be atomic or non-atomic),(Basic)
 Results, (Basic)
 Participants (Role), (Intermediate),
 Paths (flows) and decisions that logically
link those activities (Intermediate)
 Data/ materials (Supplementary),
 Inputs and outputs (Supplementary), and
 Call-out descriptions (Supplementary).
Elements
Types of Process Models and Notations
Many different notations are used in process

modelling.
1. Flowcharts and Value Stream Mapping (VSM):

used in the business domain.
2. Data Flow diagrams and Unified Modelling
Language™ (UML®) diagrams: used in the

BABoK V3 Techniques
information technology domain.

3. Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN):
used across both business and information
technology domains; is increasingly adopted
as an industry standard.
4. Integrated Definition (IDEF) notation and
Input, Guide, Output, Enabler (IGOE)
diagrams: used for establishing scope.
5. SIPOC and Value Stream Analysis: used for
process modelling.
Flowchart
A flowchart can be simple, displaying just the

sequence of activities, or it can be more
comprehensive using swim-lanes.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
BPMN is an industry-standard that is

accessible by both business users and
technical developers. It covers many types of
modelling, including both internal (private)
processes and collaborative (public)

BABoK V3 Techniques
processes.
Activity Diagram (part of UML)
Activity diagram uses swim-lanes to show

responsibilities, synchronization bars to show
parallel processing, and multiple exit
decision points.
Strengths
 Most stakeholders understand process models,

 Multiple levels can accommodate the
different stakeholder perspectives,
 Show large number of scenarios and parallel
branches,
 Identify overlooked stakeholder groups,
 Identify potential improvements by
highlighting “pain points” in the process
structure (i.e. process visualization).
 Provide documentation for compliance
purposes
 Can be used for training and coordination of
activities.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Can be used as a baseline for continuous

improvement.
 Ensures labelling consistency across
artifacts.
 Provides transparency and clarity to process
owners and participants on activity
responsibilities, sequence and hand-overs.
Limitations
 IT folks may perceive formal process models

as document-heavy approach to software
development.
 Can become extremely complex and unwieldy if
not structured carefully.
 Single individual will not be able to
understand and ‘sign off’ a complex
process.
 Cannot process problems just from the model,
 In a highly dynamic environment, process
models can become obsolete.
 Stakeholders often alter the process to meet
their needs without updating the model.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.36 Prototyping
Prototyping is a widely used technique for

product design. Prototypes provide an early
model of the final result. It details user
interface requirements, and integrates them
with other requirements such as use cases,
scenarios, data, and business rules.
Stakeholders often find prototyping to be a
concrete means of identifying, describing, and
validating their interface needs.
Business rules and data prototypes can be used

to discover desired process flow and business
rules.
Two common approaches to prototyping are:
Throw-away Seeks to quickly uncover, and clarify interface

prototype requirements using simple tools, sometimes just
paper, and pencil. Focus on functionalities which
are not easily elicited by other techniques, have
conflicting viewpoints, or difficult to understand.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Evolutionary Extends the initial interface requirements into a

or fully functioning system. Requires specialized
Functional prototyping tool or language, and produces a
prototype working application.
Prototyping examples
Proof of Created to validate the system design without

Principle or modelling appearance, materials used etc.
Concept
Form Study Focuses on basic size, look and feel of the product
Prototype: and not on the functionality
Usability Model to test how end user interacts with the

Prototype system
Visual Model to test visual aspects of the solution

Prototype
Functional Used to test software functionality, qualities of

Prototype the system, workflow etc. Also referred to as
‘working model’

BABoK V3 Techniques
Prototyping Methods
Storyboarding Visually and textually details the sequence of

activities
Paper Interface or process is drafted using paper and

Prototyping pencil
Workflow Shows sequence of operations that is performed.

modelling Focuses only on human aspects
Simulation Used to demonstrate solutions or solution

components

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Supports users who are more comfortable, and

effective at articulating their needs by
using pictures, as prototyping lets them
“see” the future system’s interface.
 Allows for early user interaction, and
feedback.
 A throw-away prototype can be an inexpensive
approach to quickly uncover, and confirm a
variety of requirements that go beyond just
the interface such as processes, data, and
business rules.
 A vertical prototype can demonstrate what is
feasible with existing technology, and
identify technology gaps.
Limitations
 Can take considerable time if the process

gets bogged down by the “how’s” rather
than “what’s”.
 Assumptions about underlying technology need
to be made to initiate prototyping.

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Users may develop unrealistic expectations

regarding delivered system’s performance,
completion date, and reliability, and
usability characteristics. An elaborated,
detailed prototype can look similar to a
fully functional system.
 Users may focus on design specifications of
the solution rather than the requirements
that the solution must address. This can
constrain the solution design. Developers
may believe that they must provide a user
interface that precisely matches the
prototype, even if superior technology
exists.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.37 Reviews
Reviews are performed to communicate, verify,

and validate the content of a work product.
Work products can comprise of several
deliverables, single deliverable, part of the
deliverable or work in progress. Different
types of reviews are conducted based on the
objectives of review, techniques to be used and
participants to be included. Each review
includes BA as a participant. Based on the
feedback from reviewers, BA updates the work
product.
Objectives of review
Objectives are communicated well in advance to

the participants. It could be one or more of
the following:
 Removal of defects
 Check for conformity to specifications or
standards
 Check for complete and correct work product
 Work product quality measurement

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Establishment of consensus on approach or

solution
 Issue resolution, alternative exploration or
education of reviewers about work product
Review techniques can be formal or informal.

The most commonly used techniques by BA are:
Formal techniques
Inspection Here, the focus is to remove defects and

create a high quality product. Includes
review of work product as well as follow up
to ensure changes have been implemented
Formal Technique that uses the individual review and

Walkthrough (also team consolidation activities
known as Team
Review)
Single Issue Focuses on either one issue or a standard

Review (also
known as
Technical Review)

BABoK V3 Techniques
Informal techniques
Informal Informal technique conducted when the work

Walkthrough product is in draft state and calls for
feedback
Desk Check Informal technique where a reviewer who was

not involved in creation of the work product
provides a feedback
Pass Around Multiple reviewers provide verbal or written

feedback
Ad hoc Business analysts seeks informal review or

assistance from a peer.
Role of participants vary depending on objectives of the review,

the selected technique and any existing organizational standards.
Roles in review
Role Mandatory Played by Responsibility Applicable

? techniques
Author Yes Author of Answers All

requirements questions about

BABoK V3 Techniques
document, the document,

typically listens to
the business suggestions,
analyst. comments.
Incorporates
changes after
the review
session.
Review Yes A peer or Reviews All

er stakeholder. requirements
document prior
to the working
session.
Presents
questions,
comments,
suggests
changes, and
discusses them
with the group.
Facili Yes Must be Facilitates the  Inspection

neutral. review session.  Formal

BABoK V3 Techniques
tator Ideally Keeps  walkthrough

author participants  May be
should not focused each helpful for
be moderator section of the single issue
in order to requirements review
avoid document as it
compromising is discussed.
the review Verifies all
participants
have reviewed
the document
before the
session begins.
Ensures that
all
participants
are
participating
in the review.
Scribe No Neutral Documents all  Inspection

participant suggestions,  Formal
with strong comments,  Informal

BABoK V3 Techniques
communicatio issues, Walkthrough

n skills concerns,
outstanding
questions that
rose during the
review.
Strengths
 Promotes discussion and involvement among

stakeholders to come up with a quality
output
 Effective at identifying possible
ambiguities, and areas of misunderstanding
early on
 Desk checks and pass around reviews can be
performed by a reviewer at a convenient time
Limitations
 Rigorous team reviews can be time consuming

 Informal reviews are more practical but may
not ensure complete removal of significant
defects
 Difficult to validate whether independent

BABoK V3 Techniques
review was carried out by each participant

in desk check and pass around type of
reviews
 Can lead to repeated revisions if changes
are not carefully managed
 Sharing and discussing review comments over
e-mail can elongate the approval process

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.38 Risk analysis
Identify uncertainties that could negatively

affect value, analyze and evaluate those
uncertainties, and develop and manages way of
dealing with the risks.
.1 Risk Identification
Use expert judgment, stakeholder input,

experimentation, past experiences, and
historical analysis of similar initiatives.
Identify comprehensive set of relevant risks
and to minimize the unknowns. This is an
ongoing activity.
Record risks in a risk register.
Risk information Residual
Risk event Cons. Prob. Impact Risk Mitigation Owner Prob. Impact Risk
or Level Level
condition

BABoK V3 Techniques
.2 Analysis
Understand the risk, and estimate level of a

risk. Consider existing controls when
analyzing the risk.
Scope Quality Cost Effort Duration Reputation Social

resp.
Low
Medium
High
.3 Evaluation
Compare risk analysis results with potential

value of the change to determine if the level
of risk is acceptable or not. Add risk levels
to obtain overall risk level.
.4 Treatment
Common approaches for dealing with risks are:
Avoid: Remove source of the risk so that the

BABoK V3 Techniques
risk does not occur.
Transfer: Liability for dealing with the risk

is moved to, or shared with, a third party.
Mitigate: Reduce risk probability or the

possible negative consequences.
Accept: Decide not to do anything about the

risk. If the risk does occur, a workaround
will be developed at that time.
Increase: decide to take on more risk to

pursue an opportunity.
Strengths
 Can be applied at multiple levels -

strategic, tactical or operational risks.
 Often, similar risks affect many
initiatives. Successful risk responses on
one initiative can be useful for others.
 Risk levels vary over time. Ongoing risk
management helps to re-evaluate the risks
and the suitability of the planned

BABoK V3 Techniques
responses.
Limitations
 Number of possible risks can easily become

unmanageably large.
 It may only be possible to manage a subset
of potential risks.
 Sometimes significant risks may not be
identified.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.39 Roles and permissions matrix
Roles and permissions matrix ensures coverage

of activities by denoting responsibility, to
identify roles, to discover missing roles, and
to communicate results of a planned change.
This can be at different levels such as

initiative level roles and responsibilities
such as RACI (Responsible, Accountable,
Consulted, and Informed) matrix, or specific
information technology system roles and
responsibilities may be identified in a CRUD
(Create, Read, Update, and Delete) matrix.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Activity Role Role Role Role Role Role Role Role Role
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Create X X X
project
View project X X X X X X X X X

BABoK V3 Techniques
.1 Identifying Roles
Review organizational models, job

descriptions, procedure manuals, and system
user guides, and discuss with stakeholders to
uncover roles.
Look for common functions that are performed

by individuals with similar needs.
.2 Identifying Activities
Use functional decomposition, process

modelling and use cases to identify
activities.
.3 Identifying Authorities
Authorities are actions that identified roles

are permitted to perform. For each activity,
identify authorities for each role.
.4 Refinements
Delegations
Identify which authorities can be delegated by

one individual to another on a short-term or

BABoK V3 Techniques
permanent basis.
.5 Inheritances
Stakeholders may request automatic assignment

to subsidiaries.
Strengths
 Provides procedural checks and balances, as

well as data security, by restricting
individuals from performing certain actions.
 Promotes improved review of transaction
history, in that audit logs can capture
details about any assigned authorities at
the time.
 Provides documented roles and
responsibilities for activities.
Limitations
 Need to recognize the required level of

detail for a specific initiative or
activity;
 Too much detail can be time consuming, too
little detail can exclude necessary roles.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.40 Root cause analysis (RCA)
Root cause analysis (RCA) helps in identifying

and evaluating the underlying causes of a
problem. RCA mainly looks into causes
occurring due to people, physical or
organizational effects.
Root cause analysis can be used for:
Reactive analysis: Identifying root causes for

corrective action
Proactive analysis: Identifying problem areas

for preventive action
Four main activities used in RCA are:
Problem Statement Definition
Data Collection
Cause Identification
Action Identification

BABoK V3 Techniques
Two popular tools for RCA are Fish-bone

diagram, and Five-whys.
Fish-bone diagram
Fishbone diagrams (also known as Ishikawa or

Cause-and-effect diagram) are used to
identify, and organize possible causes of a
problem. Fishbone diagram helps to focus on
the cause of the problem versus the solution,
and organizes ideas for further analysis.
Steps to develop a cause-and-effect diagram:
1. Capture the issue or problem in a box at the
right end of the diagram.
2. Draw a line from the box across the paper or
white board (forming the spine of the
fishbone).
3. Draw diagonal lines from the spine
representing major categories of potential
causes (people, process, tools, and
policies).
4. Draw smaller lines to represent deeper
causes on each major cause.
5. Brainstorm categories, and potential causes

BABoK V3 Techniques
of the problem, and capture them under the

appropriate categories.
6. Analyze the results. Remember that the group
has identified only potential causes of the
problem. Further analysis is needed to
validate the actual cause, ideally with
data.
7. Brainstorm potential solutions once the
actual cause has been identified.
Five-whys
Five-whys is a process of repeatedly asking

questions to find out the root cause of a
problem.
This is one of the simplest facilitation tools

to use when problems have a human interaction
component.
Steps to use:
1. Write the problem on a flip chart or white

board.
2. Ask “Why do you think this problem

BABoK V3 Techniques
occurs?”, and capture the idea below the

problem.
3. Ask “Why?” again, and capture that idea
below the first idea.
4. Continue with step 3 until you are convinced
the actual root cause has been identified.
Five-whys may take more or less than five

times of asking why. The technique is called
five-whys because often it takes that many
whys to reach the root cause, not because it
must be asked five times. Five-whys can be
used alone, or as part of the fishbone diagram
technique. Once all ideas are captured in the
diagram, use five-whys approach to drill down
to the root causes.
Strengths
 Structured method to identify root causes

of identified problems
 Helps stakeholders to come up with
effective solutions for corrective action

BABoK V3 Techniques
Limitations
 May need formal training or extensive

experience to facilitate a team of
experts
 May prove to be difficult with complex
problems

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.41 Scope models
Scope models describe scope of analysis or

scope of a solution. They serve as a basis for
defining, and limiting the scope of business
analysis, and project work. Scope models may
show elements that include:
In-scope: Elements contained by the boundary

(as seen from inside). Eg: Functional
decomposition
Out-of-scope: Elements not contained within

the boundary (as seen from outside). Eg:
Context diagram
Both: Elements on both sides of the boundary

(as seen from both sides).
Scope models provide an understanding of the

boundaries of:
While considering scope of change and context,

business analysts determine:

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Business processes, functions, new

capabilities to be defined or modified,
 Use cases to be supported, technologies

to be changed, informational assets to be
acquired,
 Organizational roles and units impacted

by the change,
 External and internal events to be

responded to and impacted by the change,
 Systems, tools, assets etc. which is

required for the change or impacted by
the change.
In order to ensure completeness and integrity

of scope models, the relationships between
potential scope elements should be identified.
Some of the diagramming techniques used for
exploring relationships are:
Parent-Child/

BABoK V3 Techniques
Composition-Subset Relates elements of the

same type by way of hierarchical decomposition
Function-Responsibility Relates a function

with the agent that is responsible for its
execution
Supplier-Consumer Relates how information or

materials is transmitted between them
Cause-Effect Logical relations identifying

aspects that are involved or impacted by
change
Emergent Complex systems have several

elements which interact to produce results
that cannot be predicted
Scope models should explicitly state critical

assumptions and their implications. The
results can be represented as textual
descriptions, diagrams or matrices.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Strengths
 Scope model facilitates agreement as a basis

for:
Defining contractual obligations
Project effort estimation
Justification of In scope/Out of scope decisions
Assessing completeness and impact of solutions
Limitations
 High-level model may not have sufficient details

and granularity

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Changing a scope that has been defined may prove

to be difficult due to political and contractual
obligations. Wrong assumptions, changing needs,
technological advancements etc. may result in a
need to revising the scope
 Common complex boundaries such as a horizon (a
boundary that is completely dependent on the
position of the stakeholder) cannot be addressed
by traditional scope models

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.42 Stakeholder List, Map, or

Personas
Stakeholder List, Map, or Personas are three

tools which can assist BAs in analyzing
stakeholders and their characteristics. It
helps BAs to identify all possible sources of
requirements. Stakeholder analysis involves
identifying stakeholders affected by a
proposed initiative or share a common business
need. Level of decision making authority,
authority within the domain and organization,
attitude/interest towards change and BA work
are typical stakeholder characteristics that
are worth identifying and analyzing.
Stakeholder lists
Brainstorming and interviews are two common

techniques which can be used to generate a
stakeholder list. Having an exhaustive list
ensures that important stakeholders or
stakeholder groups have not been overlooked.

BABoK V3 Techniques
This helps in minimizing risks of missing out

requirements.
Stakeholder map
These diagrams represent the relationship of

stakeholders to the solution and to one
another. Two common forms of stakeholder maps
are:
Stakeholder matrix: Maps level of stakeholder

influence against level of stakeholder
interest/impact on stakeholders. Here,
stakeholders are classified into 4 quadrants:
1. High influence/High impact

2. High influence/Low impact
3. Low influence/High impact
4. Low influence/Low impact

BABoK V3 Techniques
Onion diagram: Indicates level of stakeholder

involvement with the solution and which
stakeholder directly interacts with the
solution or participate in a business process
External
stakeholders
Organization
Organizational
Unit
Project

BABoK V3 Techniques
Responsibility (RACI) matrix
RACI stands for the four types of

responsibility that a stakeholder may hold on
the initiative:
Responsible Those who will be performing the work on the task

BABoK V3 Techniques
Accountable Person who is the decision maker and who is held

accountable for successful completion of the task
Consulted Stakeholder or stakeholder group who will can be

asked for opinions or information about the task.
SMEs are generally considered for this
Informed Stakeholder or stakeholder group who is kept up to

date on the task and informed of its outcome
Personas
Persona is a fictional character or model that

depicts the way a typical user interacts with
a product. Although the user groups are

BABoK V3 Techniques
fictional, they are built in such a way that

they represent actual users. Personas are
created based on research and knowledge rather
than opinions. Personas are written in
narrative form and focuses on providing
insight into the goals of the group.
Strengths
 Identifies those people who must should be

part of requirements elicitation activities
 Helps BAs to plan on how to engage all
stakeholder groups
 Useful to understand changes in impacted
groups over time
Limitations
 Those BAs who continuously work with the

same stakeholders may not use stakeholder
analysis technique as they don’t feel much
change will happen in their respective team
 Assessing influence and interest of specific
stakeholders can be complicated and risky

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.43 State Modelling
State models (also sometimes called a state

transition model) describe and analyze the
different possible states (formal
representation of a status) of an entity
within a system, how that entity changes from
one state to another, and what can happen to
the entity when it is in each state.
State models help to have a precise and

consistent understanding of an entity that has
complex behavior and complex rules about that
behavior.
A state model describes:
a. set of possible states for an entity,

b. sequence of states that the entity can be
in,
c. how an entity changes from one state to
another,
d. events and conditions that cause the entity
to change states, and
e. Actions that can or must be performed by the

BABoK V3 Techniques
entity in each state as it moves through its

life cycle.
While a process model can show all of the

entities that are used in or affected by that
process, a state model shows a complementary
view: what happens to one entity across all
the processes that affect it or use it.
.1 State
An entity can have many states during its life

cycle and it can be in more than one state
(Active-In progress, Inactive-Cancelled) at
the same time.
A complex state can be decomposed into sub-

states.
.2 State Transition
State transitions (can be conditional,

automatic or recursive) are determined by the
steps of a process, by business rules, or by
information content. Sequence of states of an
entity are not always linear; an entity could

BABoK V3 Techniques
skip over several states or revert to a

previous state, perhaps more than once.
.3 State Diagram
A state diagram shows the life cycle of one

entity, beginning when the entity first comes
into existence and moving through all of the
different states that the entity may have
until it is discarded and no longer of use.
A state on a state diagram is shown as a

rectangle with rounded corners.
.4 State Tables
BABoK V3 Techniques
A state table is a two-dimensional matrix

showing states and the transitions between
them. It can be used during elicitation and
analysis either as an alternative, a
precursor, or a complement to a state diagram.
It is a simple way to get started on a state
model in order to elicit the state names and
event names from the domain subject matter
experts.
.1 Strengths
 Identifies business rules and information

for the entity being modelled.
 Identifies activities that apply to the
entity at different states of the entity.
.2 Limitations
 Consumes time and effort

 Obtaining consensus on state model can be
time-consuming.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.44 Sequence diagram
Sequence diagrams (also known as event

diagrams) model logic of usage scenarios, by
showing the information (also known as
stimuli, or message) passed between objects
during execution of a scenario.
Sequence diagrams show how objects (interface

components or software components) used in the
scenario interact but not how they are related
to one another. Information is represented in
horizontal and vertical alignment.
Objects that send messages to each other are

represented as boxes from left to right.
Messages sent from one object to another are
represented as horizontal arrows.
Sequence diagrams show particular instances of

each object with a lifeline beneath each
object to indicate when the object is created,
and destroyed. The earliest events in the
scenario are depicted at the top of the
lifeline, with later events shown further
down. Arrival of the stimulus at the object is

BABoK V3 Techniques
called an event.
Sequence diagrams only specify ordering

of events, not exact timings of events.
An activation box represents the period during

which an operation is executed.
A message is shown as an arrow pointing from

the activation box of the object sending the
message to the activation box of the object
receiving it. Message name is placed on top of
the arrowed line. The types of messages sent
between objects are:
Synchronous call transfers the control to the

receiving object. The sender cannot act until
a return message is received.
Asynchronous call (also known as a signal)

allows the object to continue with its own
processing after sending the signal. The
object may send many signals simultaneously,
but may only accept one signal at a time.

BABoK V3 Techniques
.1 Strengths
 Shows interactions between objects in visual and

chronological order.
 Use cases can be refined into sequence diagrams
to obtain more depth and detail.
.2 Limitations
 Creating sequence diagram for each and every use

case can be a waste of time and effort.
 Generally used for modelling system flows and is
considered too technical otherwise

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.45 Survey and questionnaires
A survey, also known as questionnaire, can

elicit information from many people, sometimes
anonymously, in a relatively short period of
time. It can collect information about
customers, products, work practices, and
attitudes. A survey administers a set of
written questions to stakeholders, and SMEs.
Alternatively, respondents are provided with a
series of statements, and asked for their
level of agreement. Responses are analysed,
and distributed to appropriate parties.
Survey questions are of two types:
Closed – Respondents select from available

responses. Typically Yes/No, multiple-choice,
rank order decision etc. This is useful when
the range of user’s responses is defined well
and understood. Responses to closed questions
are easier to analyse than open-ended
questions as they can be tied to numerical
coefficients.
Open-ended – Respondents are free to answer

the questions as they wish. Useful when the
issues are known but the range of user
responses is unknown. Responses to open-ended

BABoK V3 Techniques
questions may provide more detail, and a wider

range of responses. However, open-ended
questions are more difficult to quantify and
summarize as they often include qualitative
than quantitative language.
Steps for Survey
Prepare for survey to ensure that the needed

information is obtained while minimizing
respondent’s time to complete it.
1. Define purpose, and objective of survey
2. Identify target groups to be surveyed
3. Choose appropriate survey or

questionnaire types
4. Select the sample group. Be aware of the

group’s characteristics.
Use information about the background of

the target group, including their environment,
and specific terminology to develop questions.
If the target group is significantly

diverse, divide the group into smaller, and
homogeneous groups during preparation stage,

BABoK V3 Techniques
and then produce variations of the survey that

fit each subgroup’s background.
5. Identify distribution and collection

methods
6. Define target level and timeline for

response
7. Determine whether the survey should be

followed up with individual interviews
8. Write the survey questions
9. Perform usability test on the survey. Use

results to fine-tune the survey.
10. Focus on requirements - All questions

must be directed towards the stated
objectives.
11. Make the survey easy, and fast to

complete, ideally not more than 5 or 10
minutes.
12. Arrange questions in an order which tells

a story.
13. Ensure question wordings are clear, and

concise, using terminologies familiar to
BABoK V3 Techniques
respondents.
14. Each question must address a single

point.
15. Avoid the following:
Double questions in a single question.
Negative phrasing.
Complex branching structures.
Uncomfortable questions
Information restricted by regulations.
Distribute survey or questionnaire
1. Communicate survey objectives, use of

results and arrangements for confidentiality
or anonymity. This may improve the response
rate.
2. Select distribution means according to:
Organizational policies,
Urgency of obtaining the results,

BABoK V3 Techniques
Level of security required, and
Geographic distribution of the

respondents.
Document survey results
1. Collate responses. Evaluate details and

identify emerging themes.
2. Analyse, and summarize results.
3. Report findings to sponsor.
4. Formulate categories for encoding the

data.
5. Break down the data into measurable

increments.
.1 Strengths
Can result in good number of responses.
Quick, and relatively inexpensive.
Easy to collect information from a large

BABoK V3 Techniques
audience
Does not require significant time from

stakeholders.
Effective, and efficient when

stakeholders are not located in one location.
Closed-ended surveys are effective in

obtaining quantitative data for use in
statistical analysis.
Open-ended surveys can provide insights,

and opinions which are not easily obtained
through other techniques.
.2 Limitations
Open-ended surveys require more analysis.
To achieve unbiased results, specialized

skills in statistical sampling methods are
required.
Questions may be left unanswered or

BABoK V3 Techniques
answered incorrectly due to their ambiguity.
Based on the answers provided, follow up

questions or more survey iterations may be
required.
Response rates can be too low for any

statistical significance.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.46 SWOT analysis 
 SWOT is an acronym for Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
SWOT analysis is a framework for
strategic planning, opportunity analysis,
competitive analysis, business, and
product development. Strengths, and
weaknesses are factors internal to the
organization, organizational unit, or
solution, while Opportunities, and
Threats are external factors. It can be
performed at any scale from the
enterprise as a whole to a division,
business unit, project or even an
individual.
 Strengths (Internal)
 Anything that the assessed group does

well such as experienced personnel,
effective processes, IT systems, customer
relationships, or any other internal
factor that leads to success.
Opportunities (External)
 External factors that the assessed group

can take advantage of such as new
markets, new technology, changes in the

BABoK V3 Techniques
competitive marketplace, or other forces.
 Weaknesses (Internal)
 Things that the assessed group does

poorly or not at all such as not having
market access. Threats (External)
 External factors that can negatively

affect the assessed group such as a new
competitor, economic downturns, or other
forces. Threats are also outside of the
group’s control.
 Objects that send messages to each other

are represented as boxes from left to
right. Messages sent from one object to
another are represented as horizontal
arrows.
 .1 Strengths
 Helps quickly analyse various aspects of the

current state of the organization, and its
environment prior to identifying potential
solution options.
 Enables BAs to direct stakeholders focus to
factors which add value to the business

BABoK V3 Techniques
 .2 Limitations
 Provides a very high-level view, hence calls for

detailed analysis.
 Clear context must be established to stay within
focus.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.47 Use cases and scenarios
Scenarios, and use cases describe

how a person or system interacts
with a solution to accomplish one or
more of that person or systems
goals. Although the terms scenario,
and use case are often used loosely,
a scenario is generally understood
to describe just one way that an
actor can accomplish a particular
goal, while a use case describes all
the possible outcomes of an attempt
to accomplish a particular goal that
the solution will support. Scenarios
are written as a series of steps
performed by actors or by the
solution that enable an actor to
achieve a goal. A use case describes
several scenarios in the form of
primary, and alternate or exception
flows.
.1 Use case diagram
Visually depicts scope of the

BABoK V3 Techniques
solution, actors involved, use cases

they interact with and relationships
between the use cases.
Relationships
Relationships between actors and use
cases are known as associations.
There are two commonly used
relationships between use cases:
Extend: Allows for the insertion of
additional behaviour into a use
case. Here, the base use case gets
extended by the extended use case.
The extended use case is optional
and its execution ALWAYS depends on
a condition. The specific point at
which extension occurs is called
extension point. The base use case
is complete without the extended use
case where as the extended use case
is incomplete without the base use
case. It is represented by a dotted
line with an open arrow on one end.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Include: Allows for the use case to

make use of functionality present in
another use case.In Include
relationship, the base use case
includes functionality of the
included use case. The included use
case is ALWAYS executed. The base
use case is incomplete without the
included functionality. It is
represented with a dotted line with
open arrow on one end.
.2 Use case description

Name
Use cases have a unique name
comprising of a verb and noun.
Goal
Brief description of a successful
outcome of the use case from an
actor’s perspective.
Actors
Any person, system, or event

BABoK V3 Techniques
external to the system under design

that interacts with that system.
Each actor must be given a unique
name that represents the role they
play in interactions with the
system. A particular person may fill
the roles of multiple actors over
time.
A use case is started by an actor,
referred to as the primary actor for
that use case. Other actors who
participate in the use case in a
supporting role are called secondary
actors.
 This role does not necessarily
correspond with a job title,
and should never be the name of
an actual person.
Trigger
An event (typically an action taken
by a primary actor) that initiates
the flow of event for a use case
Flow of events

BABoK V3 Techniques
Set of steps performed by the actor

and the solution during the
execution of the use case.
Type of flows:
Basic, primary or main success flow
Shortest or simplest successful path
to achieve an actor’s goal.
Alternative flow: Other paths that
may be followed to achieve an
actor’s goal.
Exception flow: If the circumstance
does not allow the actor to achieve
their goal, the use case is
considered unsuccessful, and is
terminated.
For example, in a bank transaction,
the ATM machine asking the user to
change the amount based on account
balance. Exception flows are ones
where the application fails to
achieve goal, say for example, the
ATM fails to connect to the bank
server.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Post-conditions or guarantees
Any fact that must be true when the
use case is complete. It must be
true for all possible flows
including primary and alternative
flows. It can be different for
successful, and unsuccessful
executions of the use case.
Strengths
 Good at clarifying scope, and providing a

high-level understanding of requirements
 Narrative flow of use case description

makes it easy to understand
 Use case description articulates the

functional behavior of a system
Limitations
 Written at the higher-level of

abstraction
 Flexible format of use cases may result

BABoK V3 Techniques
in capturing inappropriate or unnecessary

details
 Additional analysis, and design required

to identify these common elements.
 Use cases do not relate to the design of

the solution. Hence additional effort
must be put during development phase to
map use cases to software architecture.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.48 User stories
User Stories are a brief textual

description, typically 1 or 2 sentences,
of functionality that users need from a
solution to meet a business objective.
User story describes who uses the story,
the goal they are trying to accomplish,
and any additional information that may
be critical to understanding the scope of
the story. It helps in prioritizing,
estimating and planning solutions. It is
a a tool for short-term capture and
prioritization of requirements and not
for long-term knowledge retention or to
provide a detailed analysis.The only
detail that needs to be included is
information that reduces the risk of
misunderstanding by developers that
create the estimate.
A user story includes:
Title: Active-verb phrase which describes

BABoK V3 Techniques
the activity that a stakeholder wants to

carry out with the system
Statement of value: There are no

mandatory structures but common formats
are:
"As a <who>, I need to <what>, so that

<why>."
"Given...When...Then."
Conversation: User stories help teams to

understand the feature and the value it
will deliver to the stakeholder.
Acceptance criteria: Helps the team to

understand what the solution needs to
provide in order to deliver value for the
stakeholders.
Strengths
 Stakeholders can easily understand

BABoK V3 Techniques
 Focuses on value to stakeholders
 Results in shared understanding of the

domain through collaboration while
developing user stories
 Facilitates rapid delivery and feedback

through small, implementable, and
testable slices of functionality
Limitations
 Can prove to be a challenge as detailed

specifications may not be available
upfront
 Requires context and visibility. Should

be supplemented with higher level
analysis and artifacts
 May not be the best technique for

environments with regulatory restrictions
or when an organization mandates
documentation

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.49 Vendor assessment
Assess ability of a potential vendor to

meet commitments regarding the delivery
and consistent provision of a product or
service. It is done to ensure that the
vendor is reliable and organization
expectations are met. When solutions or
part of solutions are provided by
external vendors (who may be involved in
design, construction, implementation, or
maintenance of the solution or solution
components), or when the solution is
outsourced, specific requirements with
respect to the involvement of third
parties should be identified. Ensure that
the supplier is financially secure,
capable of maintaining specific staffing
levels, committing appropriately skilled
staff to support the solution, etc. NFRs
can be used to define the service levels
expected of a third party. Formal
assessments can be done through the
submission of a Request for Information

BABoK V3 Techniques
(RFI), Request for Quote (RFQ), Request

for Tender (RFT), or Request for Proposal
(RFP).
Steps for vendor assessment
Determine knowledge, and expertise to be

transferred, and method of execution
Third party vendors are considered so

that they can provide knowledge, and
expertise which is not available within
the organization. Target vendors with
particular expertise in methodologies or
technologies, so that their expertise can
be transferred to people within the
enterprise.
Determine licensing, and pricing models
Solutions with similar functionalities

may differ greatly in licensing models.
Analyse different usage scenarios to
determine which option will provide the

BABoK V3 Techniques
best benefit to cost ratio.
Determine product reputation, and market

position
Compare each vendor with the competitors

and decide with which player the
organization wants to get involved.
Determine terms, and conditions
Determine if the services provided by the

vendor is temporary or permanent.
Consider challenges in vendor’s
licensing terms, and technology while
transitioning to another vendor.
Vendor’s use of, and responsibility for

protecting integrity of organization’s
confidential data, customization terms
for the product etc. are considered.
Determine vendor reputation
Vendor’s experience with other customers

BABoK V3 Techniques
provide valuable information on how

likely the vendor will be able to meet
its contractual, and non-contractual
obligations. Evaluate vendors for
conformance, and compliance with external
relevant standards for quality, security,
and professionalism.
Determine vendor stability
Determine vendor’s ability to provide

the required services in future. Mitigate
risks with respect to vendor financial
difficulties. Also ensure to maintain,
and enhance the solution even if the
vendor’s situation changes radically.
Strengths
 Reduces risk of developing a relationship

with an unsuitable vendor.
 Improved long-term satisfaction with the

decision.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Limitations
 Can be time-consuming to gather

sufficient information on multiple
vendors.
 Risk of failure as the partnership

evolves cannot be prevented
 Subjectivity may bias the evaluation

outcome.

BABoK V3 Techniques
2.50 Requirements workshops
Requirements workshop, also known as JAD

(Joint application design) session, is a
highly productive focused event attended
by carefully selected key stakeholders,
and SMEs for a short, intensive period
(typically one or a few days). Workshops
may be used to generate new ideas for
features or products, reach an agreement
on a topic or review requirements.
An experienced, neutral facilitator must

facilitate requirements workshop. A
scribe documents the requirements, and
outstanding issues. Business analysis may
act as the facilitator or scribe and can
also be a participant in case she is an
SME on the topic. However, she must
approach the participant role with
caution, as she may unduly bias the
requirements towards her own viewpoints,
and priorities.

BABoK V3 Techniques
Prepare for requirements workshop
Clarify stakeholders’ needs, and purpose

of the workshop.
Identify critical stakeholders for the

workshop.
Identify facilitator and scribe.
Define workshop’s agenda.
Determine how to document outputs of the

workshop.
Schedule sessions and send invitations.
Arrange logistics, and equipment,

including seating, flipcharts, projectors
etc.
Send materials in advance to so that

attendees come prepared. This increases
workshop productivity.
Conduct pre-workshop interviews with

BABoK V3 Techniques
attendees to ensure the purpose of the

requirements workshop is understood, and
aligned with the needs the attendees.
Workshop Roles
Sponsor Has ultimate accountability for

the outcome of the workshop. Not a
frequent participant
Facilitator Introduces goals, agenda,

rules, facilitates decision making and
conflict resolution, gives participants a
chance and ensures they don’t deviate
from the topic
Scribe Documents decisions in a pre-

determined format. Keeps track of items
deferred during the session
Timekeeper Keeps track of time spent on

each item in the agenda
Participants Key stakeholders and SMEs

BABoK V3 Techniques
Conduct requirements workshop
State purpose of the workshop and desired

outcomes
Establish agreed upon ground rules
Maintain focus by frequently validating

workshops activities with the stated
objectives.
Post requirements workshop wrap-up
Follow up on any open action items

recorded at the workshop.
Complete documentation, and distribute it

to workshop attendees.
Strengths
 Helps in getting detailed requirements in

a short time.
 Means for stakeholders to collaborate,

work together to reach consensus, make

BABoK V3 Techniques
decisions, and gain mutual understanding

of requirements.
 Costs are lower than cost of performing

multiple interviews as interviews may
yield conflicting requirements, and
resolving the same can be very costly.
 Stakeholders can immediately validate

facilitator’s interpretation of
requirements, so feedback is immediate.
Limitations
 Difficult to schedule due to stakeholder

unavailability.
 Success is highly dependent on the

expertise of the facilitator, and
knowledge of the participants.
 Too many participants can slow down the

workshop process.
 Not collecting inputs from all

BABoK V3 Techniques
participants can lead to overlooking of

important requirements.

BABoK V3 Techniques PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

BABoK V3 Techniques PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BABoK V3 Techniques

IIBA®, BABOK®, CBAP®, CCBA®, ECBA® are registered Trademarks of

All trademarks of copyrights mentioned herein are the possession

Contents of this document should not be disclosed to any

This publication may be used in assisting aspirants for CBAP®

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 2 of 206

This book is authored by qualified CBAP® trainers who have helped

Feedbacks and suggestions on the book

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 3 of 206

1. PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION .................................. 11

1.1 What is business analysis? ................................ 11

2. BUSINESS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES .............................. 29

2.1 Acceptance and Evaluation criteria ...................... 29

2.13 Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) ............................... 73

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 5 of 206

2.40 Root cause analysis (RCA) .............................. 191

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 6 of 206

About Adaptive Processes Consulting

global player helping its clients  Consulting, training,

improve their BA and requirements staffing and products for

engineering capabilities and BA and requirements

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 7 of 206

Unique benefits of working with us

Our key clients

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 8 of 206

Adaptive workshops catalogue

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 9 of 206

Project Management Stakeholder Management

Please note that we modify course catalog based on changing

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 10 of 206

1. Preface and Introduction Your notes:

1.1 What is business analysis?

BABOK® definition: BA is the practice of

BA enables an enterprise to articulate its

BA can be performed within a project or across

BA can be performed from various perspectives

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 11 of 206

Who is a Business analyst?

A person who performs BA tasks mentioned in

Business analysts elicit actual needs of

stakeholders, not simply capture expressed

Common job titles for BAs are business

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 12 of 206

Understand problems and goals of the

Analyze needs and solutions

Facilitate stakeholder collaboration

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 13 of 206

1.2 What is IIBA®?

International Institute of BA (IIBA® ) was

 Creating and developing awareness and

BABOK® contains a description of generally

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 14 of 206

BABOK® does not mandate that practices

described should be followed under all

Any set of practices MUST be tailored to the

The goal of revising BABOK® v2.0 and coming up

 Incorporate new concepts and practices

2006-16 ©Adaptive Processes Requirements excellence! Page 15 of 206

1.3 What and Why of ECBA®

ECBA® stands for Entry Certificate in Business

Following are some of the benefits of becoming

 Be recognized for your competency in

Target Audience for ECBA®